


Prowlers

by RedlaSunShowers029



Category: Kuinaki Sentaku | No Regrets, Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: (just a little more than cannon), Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Anthro, Brief use / multiple mentions of shock collars, Cat!Armin, Coati!Hanji, Eremin - Freeform, Ferret!Isabel, Furry, German Shepard!Jean, Golden Retriever!Erwin, Height Differences, Highly Protective!Levi, Isabel consistently tries to fight people, Isabel-centric, Labrador!Marco, Macro/Micro, Mentions of unwilling vore but nothing detailed, Moderately inspired by both versions of Zootopia but not actually a Zootopia AU, Modern-ish setting, Mouse!Eren, Multi, Notable size / height differences in characters, Panther!Levi, Rating subject to change, Same size vore, Samesize Vore, Shetland Sheepdog!Petra, Size Difference, Very subtle mentions of potential fatal vore, Vore, Warning for some semi-graphic content, Wolf!Farlan, furry au, i mean very minor but tagging it just in case, if that even counts (?), isafar, like seriously there's a lot of vore in this one, potential sexual content, safe vore, then again is that new?, willing vore
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-14
Updated: 2018-06-14
Packaged: 2018-10-31 21:46:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 15
Words: 40,874
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10908075
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RedlaSunShowers029/pseuds/RedlaSunShowers029
Summary: In a world where predators are medicated to keep them civil with their prey counterparts, the world faces a general time of peace. However, the filthy reaches of the Underground are far from this, where medications are far from scarce, and prey are consistently slaughtered on the streets. The divide is apparent, and little is done to keep it from happening.The tale follows a young ferret who survived the slaughter, bracing the Underground and her life alongside Levi, a stoic, fearsome panther who saved her from death in her childhood. With a few wrong turns and a bit of snooping, it isn't hard to tell that not even the city above is nearly as dormant as it seems...... And there are more than enough people who want to make the divide between predators and prey as harrowing as possible.





	1. Survivor

Hunger had long since taken over the panther’s aching body, nose feebly leading him to the scent of any potential carrion. The Underground was far from bleak, with other predators running rampant and committing a multitude of crimes against their prey brethren; while Levi was uncomfortably aware of this, it wasn't going to stop him from scavenging up what he could.

Finally, after an hour of staggering, his senses lead him down one of the alleyways. Sure enough, there were plenty of the bodies of prey along the filthy streets, simply rotting away for little reason he could see. The very sight of it made him sick, repulsed both physically and morally. To think that the others killed and took only as much as they could, then left the rest to decay… All for what? Hunger was more than understandable, but murder wasn't something to take lightly. Killing should only be done if necessary, after all.

_What a waste._

Brushing off his remaining irritation, he decided it best to revive himself, then return back before anyone caught sight of him. Still grumbling and growling to himself, he approached the body of an elk, biting into the remainder of the corpse. When finished, he licked his paws clean of the blood, standing up and turning to leave. As far as he knew, the pile would there for some time – there wasn't too much of a rush getting back, unless someone else deemed it suddenly essential. He'd make a mental note of its current location for next time.

Walking forward, he felt the brush of matted fur against his legs. Pausing a moment, he turned around to determine the cause of this. There seemed to be another creature there, miraculously untouched in spite of the pile of carcasses around the vicinity. Their form was minuscule, huddled up in the corner against brick. Levi couldn't tell if their fur was a natural crimson, or if the blood surrounding the place had stained it so. A twisted grimace fell upon their face, and it appeared as though semi-evaporated tears had welded themselves into the ducts. Sniffing her gently, the panther found her scent strangely alien compared to the scent of carrion in the area. He couldn't even see the slightest trace of other polecats in the area, which seemed strange.

_Someone probably abandoned her._

The realization sunk in all too quickly, sending an understanding chill up his spine, bristling his coat of short, silky fur. In the Underground, only the strongest survived, and it appeared she hadn't quite fit the bill. That's just how things were; there was no sense lamenting it. And yet, even still, he both pitied and empathized with this creature all at once…

_I don't want to just leave her here – someone’s bound to find this place eventually, and snatch her up._

In a moment’s instinctual control his claws shot out, pupils dilating. A small strand of saliva hung loosely from his mouth, reaching out for her. Then something happened; before he could get a single hold on her, he felt something – the ferret twitched, and he could feel her sides rising and falling with shallow, shaky breaths. Snapping out of it immediately, the panther withdrew his claws, licking the blood from his muzzle in horror upon what he'd nearly done. He could see her shift, trying to find warmth in the frigid alleyway, trying to adjust herself on the cold, hard stone that paved the place.

_She’s… Still alive?!_

Of course, it would've been easy to just take her life from her, to end it then and there to eliminate her suffering, and yet he couldn't bring himself to it. While she was defenseless now, a sort of aura cloaked her, surging forth with the strongest vitality. In an instant he knew he desired to protect her, to keep her safe and from ever experiencing these horrors ever again. So softly, carefully, he reached out once more, assuring his claws were sheathed. He placed one hand under her head, wrapping his other arm around her waist and lifting the pup from her certain grave.

She was so small, he realized – she’d lost a tremendous amount of weight, and her fur was so deeply matted it was hard to stand its texture. And what was worse, she did nothing more than mumble and groan upon being handled, clearly at the point where she could care less. Heartbreaking, but there wasn't much he could do about it just yet – not while she was still on the streets.

It took a great deal of his own energy not to dig his claws in, finding it harder and harder to tame the beast within him that prowled all too closely to the surface of his mind. Under other circumstances, he could deal with the lack of medications, and the associated resistance to such primitive instincts, but already he could tell it would be challenging to keep himself under control around this lesser predator. But he also knew he would do as best he could to keep her from seeing that side of him, unwilling to see her rot away or get carried off by some other, much more apathetic predator.

One last look at the pile of bodies, a couple more scraps of meat pulled from one of them in case he needed them soon.

 

Noiseless paws met the doorway of his residence, his tail flicking curiously as he sniffed the air. So far, he seemed to have things mostly under control; it was true he had just eaten, although even still he was somewhat impressed by how nicely his instincts decreased in the ailing ferret’s presence. His ears picked up the sound of that ragged breathing, a pang of empathy spreading over him once more. Every moment he feared so deeply the breaths she took in would be her last, that this child – this toddler – would die far too soon for her time. It troubled him to the point that he desired nothing less than to put her down, and nothing more than to hold her close in hopes he really could make the difference in the end.

He started by washing her free of the blood. Applying a soft rag and wetting it with a small amount of water, he carefully scrubbed it free of the dust and debris. Once positive she was cleaner, he permitted himself to grooming her with his sandpaper-like tongue, relieved that control was, for the meantime, still within his hands. It seemed a bit too easy at this point, the fear of snapping surging forward threefold its original intensity.

What would happen if he made it to that point? Grimacing at the thought, he distanced himself a little from the small, feeble creature. No, it wouldn't come to that – he would make sure of it. But even still, he felt a twinge of guilt upon the very notion; would it have been better to leave her there than to have taken her home? Would the same fate meet her either way?

It was nearly impossible to drive the notion out of his head, not when he settled down in a chair, and most certainly not when the small ferret twitched and whimpered. Immediately turning his attention to the her, Levi felt her shift her position in his arms, though stiffened as she placed a small paw on his wrist – so firmly yet so gently that he couldn't help but beam. He knew it would take her more time to adjust, although the gesture assured him that somehow, they'd both survive this. Giving a soft sigh of affection, the panther settled his own hand against hers. For once, he allowed a small smile to form along his face, settling back in his chair and allowing his fur to settle.

_I’ll keep you safe if it's the last thing I do._


	2. Words In Passing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Essentially a quick-paced, basic guide as to what happened between time frames. The next few chapters may be a little less focused like this one for the most part, until I hit the major plot line.

“So, remind me again what you're looking for?”

A coati stood over by the counter, adjusting a pair of square, goggle-like glasses on their pointed snout. Their expression indicated interest, regarding their customer with interest behind a counter.

The small shop this particular critter owned was relatively accessible, although the entire vicinity was more word of mouth than anything else. Vials upon vials of littered the shelves, along with whatever knickknacks interested the chemist in question.

“Levi?”

The panther snapped to attention, regarding the coati sternly, seriously, without giving off the sense of hostility. “Any chance you've managed to scavenge up some of those medications from the surface city, Hanji?”

Hanji gritted their teeth, shaking their head. “Afraid not. No one dares get too close to this place if they're not from here, you know.” The chemist tilted their head curiously, tail swishing with the same interest. “Why were you wondering, if I may ask – just tired of the nagging pull of instinct all the time?”

Levi looked around him, returning his gaze to the chemist when satisfied. “I… might've just taken in a kid.”

Hanji’s expression shifted to shock, then excitement. “Oh? That's wonderful news!”

“Mostly,” Levi sighed, turning his gaze from the coati momentarily. He could feel Hanji’s intent gaze even without a look towards them, adjusting the collar on his vest and finally managing to look back. “It'd be a lot better news if I hadn't been born a predator in the Underground of all damned places, though.”

Hanji brushed past a couple of the vials they kept on the counter, wiping an empty one down with a towel. Their concern was apparent, and it was obvious by their demeanor that they didn't quite know how to help. “Is she… A prey species?”

Levi nodded, ears flattening further on his head. “Ferret, actually, but close enough.”

Hanji nodded understandingly, leaning forward on the counter. “So you're looking for something that'll keep you from… You know, losing control and devouring her without second thought?”

Levi noticeably shuddered, tail flicking back and forth in agitation. “Essentially,” he admitted, “and to keep the other bastards in this hellhole from laying a claw on her. Mostly, yes, I'm concerned about her safety around me, but also with the others…”

Hanji paused a moment. “And where is she now?”

“I managed to get her into a schooling district in the more civilized parts of town,” Levi replied, regaining his composure for the most part. “At least during the day, that should make it easier to focus.”

Hanji's interest seemed endless. “In the main parts of the city? How did you manage that?”

Levi shrugged. “I know a couple people. They seem to have a general understanding of my situation right now.”

“Well, that's good at least,” Hanji spoke in response, their attitude surprisingly optimistic. “I hope that works out as well as you're hoping.” They turned their direction to their stock, then back at the panther. “Aside from that, do you have anything in place to keep yourself in control?”

Levi shook his head. “Not just yet. That's why I'm back again here so soon.”

Hanji turned back to their wares. “Hmm…” Their eyes caught sight of something on the shelves, walking over to check it out. Their paws grasped onto a square vial, filled with an amber liquid. This they placed on the table, pushing it forward for the panther to investigate. “This won't help in the case of a momentary snap, but this is a good thing to have on hand. Lots of prey keep it around with them, and it's been effectively tested quite a dozen times.”

Levi picked it up, eyeing the fluid suspiciously. “What is it, exactly?”

“It's a serum used to cause complete indigestion,” Hanji explained calmly. “The chemicals themselves neutralize stomach acid and any enzymes that may be harmful to a living creature.” Upon seeing Levi's unease, Hanji leaned forward, understanding quite well the reason for it. “Of course, I'm not saying that you'll ever have to use it, but it's not bad to have just in case.”

Levi looked up from the vial, forcing a polite smile. “No no, I'm grateful for it,” Levi assured, still trying to rid the very idea of such an instance from his head. “Thank you, Hanji.”

“Not a problem,” Hanji replied. “You can just take that - they're relatively easy to come by, and I'd rather know you have it than be worried about it.”

“Really? I appreciate it, Hanji.”

Hanji gave him a warm smile. “For old time’s sake.”

Levi scoffed, his tone hinting the slightest bit of amusement. “For the time being, I'll see if this works. Hoping it doesn't come to it, though…”

“Oh! Wait right there – I do have something else.”

The coati bounced over to another shelf, pulling out two separate things: a huge gallon filled with some strange white powder, and a collar. Both of these Hanji placed before him, allowing him a moment to look over them.

Readjusting their glasses, the look Hanji gave Levi was purposeful, serious, and altogether understanding. “In case that doesn't work…” Their claw tapped the gallon first, brushing off the label. “Mix this into her food. It should work much like the serum, although it won't have to be applied as immediately.”

Levi quirked a brow. “A bit more explanation would be nice. And is that stuff safely edible?”

Hanji nodded. “That much I know for sure – nobody has ever gotten hurt by that combination of chemicals. The actual effectiveness of this particular substance is currently being experimented on, although if it works as it should, will eventually accumulate within her body and make her naturally immune to any form of gastric chemicals. Just in case something comes up and you're not able to –“

Levi placed a hand up for Hanji to cease, clearly horrified upon the very thought of it. “Thank you, Hanji. Now, this last thing?”

Hanji bit their bottom lip. “… How desperate are you to keep your instincts at bay?”

Levi scowled, his expression utterly incredulous. “What do you think? I'd sell my soul to the fucking devil to keep her safe. Just… I don't want something to happen, especially not because I did something I could've avoided…”

“Well, then I suppose this can be of use to you,” Hanji replied, holding the collar up to him. The object gleamed in front of him, a heavy metal box attached to the side with a small red button in the center. Small wires seemed to run along the inside, Levi noticed, connecting to the strange rectangular section of it.

“And this…?”

“It's a…” Hanji hesitated. “… Shock collar…”

Levi placed it down, brows furrowed, his expression otherwise unreadable. He tilted his head worriedly towards the coati, trying to figure out how to respond.

“Weren't those… Canceled?”

“In most parts of the city, yes,” Hanji responded, “although they were in proper working use and ready to be distributed up until the medicines came out.” Hanji held a paw out to take the choker from the hesitant panther, tapping the wiring. “I've made certain it won't go off with the associated high heart rate or any sort of excitement, but more over to specific signs of predatory behavior – some combination of sudden eye dilation, unsheathed claws, excessive drooling – symptoms that I've witnessed many of the predators down here succumb to.” They held it out once more, and Levi took it without a moment’s hesitation. Upon his worried look, Hanji sighed, giving him an assuring glance. “It'll administer a small shock every time you're like that for more than a second. Don't worry, though - it's effective, perhaps even more so than the pills they give out now. I'll keep you posted if I manage to find any of those, of course.”

“Thank you very much, Hanji,” Levi murmured in reply, getting out as much as he could afford to pay the coati. “I don't know what I'd do without these.”

Hanji brushed down a stray fur on the wide of their head. “Of course.” As he turned to leave with the items in toe, the coati called out to him once more. “But Levi –“

The panther turned towards them, slightly irritated, completely exhausted. “Yes?”

“Does she know yet?”

Levi gave the chemist quite a look. “Oh, absolutely – I’ve already made a point to tell a four-year-old ferret that one of these days I might lose it and try to eat her. What do you think, Hanji?”

Hanji muttered something incoherent. “… Perhaps you're right – it does seem a bit soon to tell a child that young. She’ll figure it out eventually, I'm sure, though – brace yourself for that.”

“Oh, I know,” Levi grumbled, souring some upon Hanji's reminder. “Isabel’s constantly getting herself into trouble, so I wouldn't be surprised.”

Hanji drew back, brushing out their tail as a way of looking busy. “But… Do you have any idea what you'll tell her when she picks up on it?”

A growl rose from Levi's throat, signaling that it was best not to continue the conversation.

“I'll think of something, Hanji,” Levi assured, opening the collar up and adjusting it around his neck. “Just not right now. For the moment, I'd like to hope that things are getting better from here on out.”

“I'd hope so, too,” Hanji murmured from behind the counter, watching him walk back to his vicinity until the door closed with a loud click.

 

_It'll work – I just have to give it some faith._

The small ferret remained by his side, occasionally bouncing off just the slightest bit before returning to grasp onto Levi's paw. Walking her out from the safety of the school district was uncomfortable, because he knew well what might happen outside of it – the predators were well-medicated in there, and in the city as well. But the Underground? He'd have to find a way out of there soon enough.

Heavy paw steps lead him back down to the filthy reaches of the vicinity, cringing as the scent of filth and decay filled up the putrid air. He covered his the metal contraption up with the collar of his vest, hoping that none of the other predators would take note of it if they caught sight of it. Levi reached down to scoop Isabel up in his arms, tail twitching, ears constantly alert for the slightest sound of unwanted company in the area – he wanted nothing less than for those beasts to frighten her just yet, and even less so for her to witness him rip them to shreds. He was not usually a violent panther unless provoked, but he'd have to tone it down if he wanted to keep Isabel's trust.

This was how he'd traveled down to their home for many years – moving her to the next district on as she grew up, and keeping careful attention to the intensity of his rising instincts. Occasionally she seemed to take notice of some things - she'd ask him why he constantly wore the collar around his neck, and chirped with interest about the strange powder he always mixed into the carrion he brought home while she was away. Afraid to tell her the whole truth all at once, he'd ruffle the fur on top of her head and softly reply it was to keep her strong and to protect her.

And while she questioned, argued, and debated just about everything else, something about this clicked quite nicely with the ferret; Isabel knew well at this point that Levi would not give such an explanation lightly. Thus she only inquired on occasion to see if she would get a different answer, but always complied and adhered regardless.

As she grew up, Isabel got tougher, sleeker, taller, and meaner. The older she got, it seemed the more she got in trouble at school for such small things – she'd always been hyperactive, but it seemed many a times what she did with that energy was nothing positive. She'd strike people down, call them out, tease them, taunt them, and consistently try to prove her prowess against them. For this reason, many of the kids avoided her, afraid she would go off on them, even though with a through look at her record she only went after bullies. She alienated the majority of the school, it seemed, by the time she hit sixth grade, except for one: a small, golden cat by the name of Armin, who seemed more than accustomed to her brash behavior, and more than simply comforted by her aggression against those who tried to pick on her.

“Why do they always go after ya, anyways? Don't seem like yer the type most bastards like to harass.”

“It's because my best friend’s a mouse,” Armin sighed, gratefully allowing the ferret to help him up. “A lot of the predators keep telling me I should just eat him and be done with it.”

Isabel’s eyes widened with shock, fur bristling. “Why the hell do they tell ya that? Tch - don't pay ‘em any mind; after all, they ain't nothin’ more than a couple bastards lookin’ for trouble.”

“I know,” Armin murmured in response, brushing the dirt out of his fur, “it's just… It's so hard to sway them otherwise. And I know Eren would – or would try to, anyways – fight them off, but they'd only laugh harder. Usually nothing happens until Mikasa arrives.” Upon seeing Isabel's clueless expression, Armin turned, pointing over to a sleek black wolf o the far edge of the field. “That's Mikasa, Eren's adoptive sister. Something happened to his family so her family took him in. I haven't met the other Ackermans, though – only her, but a single look from her is enough to give any other predator chills. If there's anyone who keeps the bullies off of me, it's her.”

Isabel snorted. “Sounds a lot like my Big Brother.”

“It's always good to have people like that on your side,” Armin responded. “After all, while we've shed our primitive ways, this world isn't getting any kinder. Still lots of people want us predators to live away from prey, but even if it's a long fight for that acceptance, I'm willing to do what it takes.” Armin adjusted the collar of his shirt, hesitating a moment. “Do I ever get to formally meet Levi, by the way?”

“Someday, probably,” Isabel shrugged. “I dunno – he's a lil hard to get used to from what I've seen. A lotta people avoid him, anyways, but I'm not quite sure why.”

“He does carry a somewhat unnerving aura around himself,” Armin admitted, fur bristling. “But I can tell there's a lot more to him than what he conveys.”

Isabel regarded Armin, incredulous yet astounded. “How can ya tell?”

“Well, there's just something about him… I'm not sure what. Sort of like Mikasa, yeah – all tough on the outside, but really friendly when you get to know them. Sort of like he's hiding something.”

Isabel broke into laughter, collapsing to the ground. Armin jumped, looking worriedly over at the ferret. “Was there something wrong with what I said?”

Isabel suppressed her remaining laughter, wiping away a tear from her eye as she stood up. “Ah, it's nothin’, it's nothin’, just…” She shook out the dust from her fur and clothing, placing a paw up to her mouth to avoid howling once more. “Levi ain't scared of nothin.’ I can't possibly imagine what there is he possibly could be.”

“Well…” Armin gritted his teeth, inhaling sharply. “Everyone's afraid of something, Isabel. Nobody lives life without fear, or else they haven't lived.”  
Armin twitched as the whistle blew, and the crowds of predators formed into a line in front of the instructors. The feline dropped forward a few steps, before turning back to wave to Isabel. “Anyways, I'll catch up with you later,” Armin mewed. “See you at the end of the day!” Without another word, the cat bounded forward, joining Mikasa in the line.

Isabel waited a few moments, leaning back against a tree in the yard to ponder the conversation.

_Levi? Afraid? Psst – if he was afraid, then what the hell would he possibly be worried about?_

Three years from then it would take her to realize the answer to the question.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not sure if anyone's noticed that my version of Levi is infinitely softer and somewhat more open than the cannon one. I personally find it more interesting that way, as it allows for a bit more empathy.
> 
> As for Isabel and Armin being friends? I'm not sure why but something about it seemed to fit together.


	3. Junkyard

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Levi has to explain everything all at once.
> 
> **WARNING: This chapter contains detailed clean, willing, safe vore.**

“So, are ya ready to go or not?” The ferret leaned on the doorway, expression and body language both echoing her amusement. “Thought ya were the one who wanted to get out before the rest of the predators found yer spot?”

“I'm coming in a moment, Isabel,” Levi grumbled, reaching into a drawer. He took one look at Isabel, pulling some sort of metallic choker out of the compartment. Concern filled his expression, eyeing the ferret, then the object. “Can't be too certain…” The words barely reached Isabel's ears, watching him fasten the collar around his neck, and grabbing a small pouch beside him as he stood up. “Alright, now I'm ready.”

“It's about time,” Isabel chuckled, her tail flicking side to side mischievously. “It's been nearly twenty minutes.”

Levi sighed, a small, affectionate smile forming on his lips as he reached down to ruffle the ferret’s soft fur. “Sorry for the holdup.” His demeanor turning graver, he pulled Isabel to his side, ears flattening against his head. “Now, remember, stay by my side at all times. Don’t talk to any of the other predators. And if anyone gives you trouble –“

Claws unsheathed on his other hand, before pulling them back in. “Those bastards won't see the light of day again.”

Isabel nodded understandingly, well accustomed to Levi's protective nature. “I gotcha, big brother. I won't be wanderin’ anywhere, I promise.”

“Good.” Levi hesitated a moment before stepping forward, slowing his normal gait to match closer to Isabel's. “Now, we might as well get going - I've got no clue how much will be left at this point.”

The panther cautiously opened the door, ferret in tow. His ears pricked up in hopes of catching sound of any competition before it was too late, though sighed in relief when he found none. “Seems like the coast is clear.”

Levi opened the door wider this time, stepping out to sniff the air. At this he received an impatient shove from Isabel – honestly, why did he need to be so slow about everything? – at which point he allowed her to step out.

“Levi, c’mon - I'm sure nobody would try to mess with _you_.”

Levi looked down at his little sister, heart melting upon the adoring, confident look in her eyes; he hoped she would never stop regarding him in such a way, and hoped he'd never give her reason to.

“I sure hope you're right about that.”

He tugged her hand lightly, stepping onto the top step of their small house. With each one he descended he waited for the ferret to catch up, making sure there wasn't a moment that Isabel fell behind. Of course, she had no clue of the reason for this, considering him overprotective – but all too often did the predators of the Underground prey upon the smaller, less protected creatures in the vicinity, and he would rather die than have that happen to her. Not to Isabel.

Within the duration of a couple minutes, the pair made it down the stairs, allowing them to both walk more normally down the streets of the slum.

_It's just a couple paces from here – God, I can smell the death from here…_ Levi shook his head, trying to rid his mind of the thoughts.

“Ya sure yer okay?”

Levi’s fur bristled, tail lashing behind him in annoyance – did she always have to pick up every one of his fear signals?

“I'm fine. Just keep walking.”

The path was mostly clear on the way to the alleyway full of slaughter, with the occasional skittering rabbit or burrowing vole who desired not to get in his way. For a long time, things were silent, each of the two keeping their eyes and ears alert for any sign of trouble in their wake.

“The streets are awful quiet around this time, huh?”

“A little too quiet,” Levi growled, his tone then returning to a softer, more assuring one. “Keep listening out – I wouldn’t be surprised if a pack is trying to close in or something.”

More minutes passed, Levi's paranoia running thin. Anxiety had run his navigation skills thin, leading them in the wrong direction several times before correcting himself. Hunger had yet again worn down further, a deep growl from his stomach reminding him of his goal. He looked down at Isabel for a moment, stopping and letting go of her paw as though debating what to do.

“Uh… Levi?”

A violent shock erupted from the choker around his neck, causing the panther to convulse with the current.

“Shit!”

A strained grunt escaped the panther’s lips, dropping to his knees with a moment. The intensity of the shock alone bothered him, not simply for the physical pain it caused but much more for what it indicated - he'd been all too close, and the horrified look on Isabel's face alone was enough to break him.

“L-Levi, what -?!”

“Just keep moving,” Levi snarled, adrenaline coursing through his veins. His fur still stood on end upon the thought, ears doubly alert as before; not only had the incident nearly turned nasty, but it also left a wide duration of time for whatever awful, unmedicated beasts to close in much quicker than initially perceived.

Many minutes passed by before they finally found the alley, lying with the same foul, decaying corpses of prey as before. It seemed only so many predators had been there before, although Levi was truly uncertain as to whether that was a curse or a blessing. At least it meant there was enough food.

Isabel approached the dead animals hesitantly, a worried expression spread across her face – uncertain of what had happened, and at the same time uncertain of how to approach the situation.

Levi locked his eyes with hers, crouching down to a rabbit to make sure she understood. Carefully, he leaned forward, biting into it, and tearing off sizable chunks. Of course, this was Isabel's first time really out here, he realized, as the majority of times he'd gone out in search of meat were when she was at school, safe from any predatory intervention. But this was different: while he wasn't sure it was safe for her, she still needed to learn how to scrounge on her own.

Isabel seemed to pick up relatively quickly, thank god, reverting to a bipedal stance and nibbling on a raven. When she had seemed to finish off as much as she could, she looked over at Levi, seeing him lick the blood from his lips, and copied. Then she waited for him to have finished, noticing with the slightest hint or interest how he seemed to require much more cardio to survive, gorging himself on the piles of prey for several minutes until seemingly satisfied. With a small bit of brushing off, he stood up, adjusting his vest before turning back.

“Alright, ready to head back?”

Isabel gave an agreeable chirp, nodding her head. She held out her hand before Levi could even ask, relieved by her willingness and compliance; at least rebellion wouldn't kill her. Everything seemed to be going well when they headed out, both satisfied and mostly undisturbed aside from the occasional scuttling of fearful prey. In fact, for a moment Levi relaxed, letting his guard fall –

“Hey Levi!”

His ears swiveled around for the sound, growling upon the intrusion of his comforted state. A simple scan of the vicinity with his silver eyes located a tiger, laughing at something seemingly invisible.

“What's wrong with ya? How long are you going to keep that morsel with you before you tire of her?”

Isabel's ears shot up, heart pounding. “Levi?”

“Don't listen to these bastards – they have no clue what they're talking about,” Levi responded, his voice assuring aside from its spike of fear. His strides became faster, heavier, to the point where the ferret had to practically run to keep up with him.

“Aww, how cute – looks like the bit old panther has a little prey friend. Poor gal probably doesn't know what's coming for her.”

Claws unsheathed by his right side, and a badger attempted to creep forward. Alarmed, Levi blocked them, pushing Isabel to his other side and keeping up a pace quick enough to avoid them.

Anger ruffled the ferret’s fur, although her spark of anxiety was apparent. “The hell does he mean by –“

Levi gripped her hand tighter. “It doesn't matter. Don't engage them, and they'll go away.”

“What's wrong with the old cat? Do you see that collar around his neck?! Looks more like he's letting his prey get the best of him than anything else. You've waited all this time for her to grow up, haven't you? Now’s your chance, fool!”

Levi was shaking with agitation at this point, heart pounding a mile a minute. He could tell just by the presence she held that Isabel was much in the same, fur stiff, tail frozen skyward, and even her tiny little claws seemed to be unsheathing from her crimson mitts. But did she really believe the gang of troublemakers above him? Would she run? If she ran, one of them would surely grab her and gobble her up within an instant – and he wouldn't have a split second to tear her away from that fate. No, she couldn't possibly - !

But even in spite of her apparent confusion and fear, she seemed to only tighten her grasp on his hand opposed to loosening it, shoving herself further and further towards his side. No, she wasn't going anywhere: these gestures made it apparent. She knew well she would die if she left his side, and the thought of this both relieved and horrified him all at once. Relived him, because he still had a chance. Horrified him, because what if that was the only reason?

No time to think of that now – there were more and more of them swarming in to catcall them both, some more hostile and deadly in their gazes than others. All of them seemed like they would try to strike – and that's when Levi knew he needed to get them both out of it as quickly as possible.

Without much warning beforehand, the panther scooped Isabel up, using whatever scent tracking he had to guide him home. His feet, for once, didn't fail him, and the adrenaline in his slender form was enough to keep him running. All around it seemed the creatures roamed, waiting for a chance, a bite, to swallow her whole, perhaps, but that time wouldn't come. Not now, not ever.

And finally, as they reached the steps of the house, he managed to relax just enough, placing Isabel on the top step, opening the door wide and gently scooting her in.

Levi collapsed on the inner side of the door, closing it cautiously after a low warning growl to anyone still outside. They were back, they were safe – but he wasn't off the hook now, not just yet. The incredulous, nervous look in Isabel's eyes said it all: he had some explaining to do.

“The hell was that all about?!”

Levi grumbled something incoherent, slumping down in his chair. “Could you give me a moment to let my heart rate settle back down?”

“Of course, Brother.” Isabel reclined a little bit on the couch beside him, although her posture still seemed tense, claws still extended as though expecting a fatal blow. The question still haunted him, unable to tell if she was simply concerned or truly believed any of the bullshit that left the mouths of those beasts. The ferret struggled to relax, wringing her tail and brushing out her fur in hopes of getting it to settle. “The nerve of some predators, huh? What's their problem with us?”

Upon seeing her faint smile, Levi chuckled back, trying to settle down himself. For the moment she seemed to think things were the same as they always were, and how he hoped they'd always be, and yet he knew things would soon sour if she found out the truth. But he certainly couldn't keep it from her forever…

“I wish they'd cut it out as much as you, Isabel,” Levi replied, his tone soft in spite of the growl rising up in his throat. His ears still scanned the area, praying no predator tried to break through the locked door. “Unfortunately, not many people see our relationship as what it is, and are willing to go to some lengths to try to sway me against it.”

Isabel stiffened, claws gripping the sofa worriedly.

“Um … What exactly do you mean by that…?” The ferret forced a worried chuckle. “Surely they're confused. I mean, why the hell wouldn't a panther take care of his own –“

“- You're not a panther.”

Isabel's eyes widened, falling dead silent. Open-mouthed, she turned to Levi in fear and confusion, unable to think, much less find anything constructive to say in response. Just seeing Levi, her brother, the bravest, strongest creature she knew slumped over in shame and terror broke her in a thousand different ways, and the truth was all too hard to take in.

Levi took his hand off his forehead, lifting his head the slightest bit to try and look her in the eye; the very sight of those wide, teary eyes made him lose focus, wanting nothing more than to hug her close, tell her everything was okay, and that everything would be the same. But it wouldn't be, and there was no turning back now.

He had to tell her everything.

“Then… What am I?”

Levi struggled to keep composure. “You're a ferret. I mean, think about it – we don't look anything alike. Did you… Did you really still think we were a part of the same species?”

Isabel refused his gaze, rubbing the tears out of her eyes on the backs of her hands. “I… I guess it makes sense. But then,” Isabel returned her gaze to Levi after a moment, fear still present in her icy blur eyes, “does that mean that those bastards on the street… When they said something ‘bout me being your p-“

“No!”

Isabel shot back, trembling. Her hands reached for the small knife at her side, fur flared, heart pounding. A single look at Levi and she could see what they were talking about: while it'd been a moment of terror more than an attack, she could see his jaws open wide, body seizing up, claws out. He'd even lunged forward in his seat a little, before pulling back in horror.

Shaking, jet black hands smoothed out his own ragged fur, wiping some of his own tears away with the tip of his tail. It was clear she didn't understand, and he admitted this was what he expected, but how could he assure her? He certainly didn't want things to come to this, but they'd get much worse if he didn't explain properly.

_Try to relax… Try to get this right this time._

Still shaking and fur still raised fearfully, he sat back down, trying to avoid eye contact lest it set any more fear into her aching heart. Several moments passed before the palpitations of his heart became calm enough to speak, and for his ragged, strained breathing to settle back to normal. His ears still reared back with shame, wasting time by adjusting his shock collar more firmly around his neck.

“I wonder why the hell this thing didn't go off…” He finally met eyes with the ferret for a moment, sighed, and kept his composure the best he could. “Isabel,” he murmured softly, “please sheath your claws. I am not going to hurt you. _I am not going to hurt you,_ rest assured.”

Still shaking, Isabel did so, hugging herself tightly. Her tail wrapped just as firmly around herself, keeping her fingers away from the hilt of her weapon.

“Listen, this is going to be hard to explain, but I need you to listen and understand every word of what I'm saying, got it?”

Isabel nodded, avoiding his gaze with a nervous sigh.

“First of all, never, _ever_ get the idea I'm going to turn around and eat you. You don't have to worry about that – I promise.”

Isabel seemed to unfurl slightly, although still held her tail closely. “Then if we're not actually related, and you're not going to…” Isabel gulped nervously. “… You know… Then why am I here? Where did ya even find me?”

Levi shuddered, leaning forward and gritting his teeth. “Are you sure you want to know?”

Isabel cocked her head. “… That bad?”

Levi nodded. “Pretty bad.”

“I mean, I guess so…”

Levi struggled for the words, still unable to look her in the eye. “So you know that pile of prey corpses?”

Isabel's tail shot up. “Ya found me _there_ ?!”

Levi nodded. “Sure did. Jammed between quite of them. Hell, at the time I caught sight of you, I wasn't even sure if you were alive or dead –“ Smelling the intense fear on her, Levi softened, losing composure for a moment. “Now now, I knew you were alive when I brought you back here…”

“’An none of the other predatory bastards gave ya shit for it?”

“Frankly, I don't think any of them saw. And in any case, I don't give a shit what they think. They can think I'm going against the flow for taking you in, and it won't matter a thing to me. The only thing that bothered me this time was how closely they were following us… But even if they had seen, I don't think any of them would've been chasing after me at the time. You were, how do I say this…” Levi made a gesture to indicate her size. “… A small, small ferret at the time – too small for any self-respecting predator to bother with fighting me over. Let me just say if they'd tried, their days would've been more than numbered…”

“So then why did ya take me from that spot?”

Levi relaxed a little, relieved at the fact he still had her listening. “Well you see, to put it frankly, I empathized with you. My mother starved to death when I was a cub, and my uncle took me in afterwards. While he saved my life, it was still hard to be around him, and well… I just didn't want to see you suffer the same fate, because I know all too well what it's like to be in that situation.”

“So that's why?” Isabel's tone indicated interest, ears pricked up and fear fading. “Ya really are just a softie after all.”

Levi grinned. “Don't tell anyone.”

“So, just to make sure, yer not gonna eat me, right?”

“Damnit, you, I'd kill myself sooner than do that.” Levi's demeanor grew sterner, standing up now that he was certain he'd regained Isabel's trust. “All these questions you've been asking lately… ‘Why do I have to eat the white powder?’ ‘Why do we have to go over to the alleyway right this instant? You just said a moment ago you were getting hungry.’ ‘Why are you always wearing they weird choker around your neck?’ There's a reason for all of it, you know.”

“I mean, I do now,” Isabel shrugged. “I just thought ya were bein’ strangely serious about the whole shebang.”

“Well now you know,” Levi replied, straightening the collar around his neck. “It's all been because I'm making sure I _don't_ lose control.” Levi stepped forward, tail bristling as he attempted to explain the rest, pacing the slightest bit back and forth to keep himself on track. “You see, while we're evolved, there's still that creeping instinct that makes things a lot harder than they should be. For the predators above the surface, there's some sort of medication they take that shuts off that part of their brains, but down here? Nobody dares come down here long enough to give them out.”

“So… Is that why ya keep lookin’ at me funny? ‘Cause of the instinct?”

“I've been – why didn't you say anything once I snapped back?”

“I dunno – I had no clue it was linked to that!”

“Well, probably, then. I'm sorry – I had no clue it'd gotten that bad…”

“I mean, nothin’s happened. Don't worry about it.”

Isabel shrugged nonchalantly, loosening up.

“That's how I'd like it to stay. Now, you've been asking about this?” Levi stopped pacing a moment, putting a thumb under the band of the choker.

“Yeah! The hell even is that?”

“Shock collar,” Levi responded in a lackluster fashion, seeming neither pleased nor bothered by it. “It's supposed to snap me out of any urges before something… Regrettable happens.”

“Oh.” The expression on the ferret’s face grew graver, although the curiosity was still there. “… Does it hurt?”

Levi regarded her incredulously. “What kind of question is that? Of course it does – the voltage, anyways.”

Isabel's stance grew more defensive. “N-No, I mean –“

“It's alright, Isabel – you didn't say anything wrong. In any case, it's damn worth it if it keeps you alive.”

“And if that doesn't work?”

Levi faltered, a small smile once again forming on his lips. “You sure do ask a lot of questions.”

“Give me another way to learn all this, and I'll gladly take it,” Isabel replied playfully, nudging Levi's side. “But until then, this is the best I've got.”

“Fine – you want to know?”

Isabel nodded, sitting up straight. “Mmhmm.”

Levi raised a brow upon her curiosity, reaching into a pocket on the side of his pants. From this he drew a rectangular bottle made of some form of reinforced glass, with an amber liquid inside. “Not saying anything will happen, but if it does I'm well prepared. I'm taking it you don't know what this is, do you?”

Isabel shook her head, leaning forward with the utmost curiosity. “It looks pretty cool, though. So what does it do, brother?”

“It's an indigestion serum,” Levi responded, holding it up to her. “It neutralizes the acids and enzymes in any predator’s stomach, so nothing can happen to you while it's in effect. I know a lot of prey keep it on them at all times, and I've been doing the same just in case.”

“In case ya snap or something?”

“Well, yes, but not just me. If anyone else somehow manages to get ahold of you, I'll dump the whole bottle down their throats before they can think otherwise.”

“Cool.” Isabel's eyes traced the bottle until it disappeared from her line of sight. “Do I get one of those?”

“I'm sure Hanji could get me another bottle of it,” Levi responded, nodding curtly. “However, I'm not sure you'll ever really need it…”

Isabel tilted her head, conveying even more curiosity. “And I’m taking if you're getting to that?”

Levi growled playfully, leaning over to nibble gently on her ear. “Of course I'm getting to that. Be patient.”

Isabel did her best to follow this request, although the twitching of her tail indicated she wouldn't be able to wait long. Levi paused, hesitating a moment before settling himself down beside the ferret.

“Frankly, I'm not sure how the hell it works, but that stuff I've been giving you supposedly makes you immune on its own…”

“So even without that vial, nothing would happen to me?”

“Correct,” Levi replied, heaving a deep sigh. “And well, that's about the thin and thick of it.”

Isabel paused for a moment herself, blinking. Slowly, she scooted closer to Levi, nudging her small head against the crook of his arm. Levi straightened his position, somewhat shocked by the relaxed nature of her posture. Deciding not to question it, however, Levi took advantage of the situation, wrapping his arm around her small form protectively. Waiting only a moment beforehand to assure her comfort, Levi gently picked her up, placing Isabel on his chest and reclining slightly so her chin rested on his neck. The gesture only seemed to make Isabel relax more, sinking into his silky fur little by little.

For several moments they remained like this, each comforted by the presence of the other. The relief of the final result allowed several resonant purrs to rise up from the back of Levi's throat, his eyes closing comfortably for the first time in ages.

Although something seemed to shift his relaxed state, or more, a single sound – the clicking of a couple latches at the back of his neck, and the clasps swung open, and he knew exactly what had happened.

Isabel sat up defiantly, holding the detached shock collar in front of him. “Promise me ya won't wear this darn thing again - it's clear now ya can't hurt me, so I refuse to just sit an’ let ya hurt herself over nothin’.” She placed it on the coffee table, looking down upon him with an almost accomplished look.

At the moment, Levi lacked the strength to argue with her, giving an understanding nod. “Fine. Now please relax, will you?”

Isabel agreed, nuzzling back down with a soft chuckle. “Alright, sorry. But one more question…”

Levi opened an eye, seeming moderately annoyed. “One more.”

“So… Ya know we gotta test this out, right?”

Levi regarded her incredulously. “… Test what out?”

Isabel indicated the vial in his pocket, which Levi pulled out, setting by the collar on the table. “No, this has been clinically tested a thousand times. Nobody's died from use of that, neither predator nor prey.”

“But what about my immunity?”

Levi's tail sprang up, fur bristling from the implications of the question. Upon the second time she sat up, Levi realized there was no getting Isabel to settle back down - it'd been a relief while it'd lasted, anyways. She seemed to curiously brush the fur around her neck, running a hand over her forearm and elbows.

“I mean… Ya said it'd keep me safe from any predator, right? Even without the serum, but has _that_ been tested out?”

“It should be e-“ Levi cut himself off, sitting up with a look incredulous as ever. He tilted his head forward, the morbid curiosity, discomfort, and complete disbelief written plainly on his face. “You can't possibly by asking me-“

Isabel shrugged, still unfazed. “Well I mean, if it doesn't work, the it's better to know that now than later, right?” The ferret leaned forward, her expression so innocent, yet intentions questionable. “After all, I'd much rather make sure of that now while I'm at home an’ with a nice predator like you, Brother, than when I have to take my chances with some surly, violent beast who just wants to make quick work of me. Wouldn't ya agree that's better?”

Levi was silent for a moment, unable to help but acknowledge she had a point. Even still, it seemed counterproductive – after all the years he'd fought instinct, nearly killing himself time after time to keep her away from the clutches of instinct… It felt wrong, even if her logic was intact.

Levi shook his head, burying his face in the crook of his arm. “Just a couple minutes ago you were terrified I was going to devour you, and now you're _asking_ me to do the same now? Christ, what's wrong with you?”

Isabel's comfort level hadn't seemed to change. “And if it doesn't work then, well, we could always use that stuff so nothing happens,” she added confidently, pointing to the vial.

Levi looked from her to the vial, and then to the shock collar, then back at her. Still debating things out and determining what was best, it seemed his stamina had yet again lowered, the panther’s stomach letting off a deep, cavernous bellow to indicate its lack of contents.

Isabel only seemed more confident about this, reaching down to give his stomach a soft, firm rub. “See? And now yer belly’s empty, so I won't have to worry ‘bout anything digesting around me or otherwise getting in the way in the meantime.”

Levi opened his mouth to protest, although wound up giving in upon the gesture, unable to help but purr a little in response to the gentle kneading. While he wouldn't openly admit it, the sensation was rather nice, easing up some slight abdominal tension. And the simple idea of feeling it all the better from deep within… The panther’s mind snapped to attention – no, that was beyond the point. Defeated, Levi placed both his hands on her shoulders, giving the ferret a stern, concerned look:

“Are you absolutely positive you want to go through with this?”

Isabel closed her eyes, nodding with the same confidence as before. A small smile played along her lips, brushing a paw against Levi's muzzle. “Yep, I'm certain.”

Levi paused a moment, then attempted to begin to the best of his ability. He started with a sniff, getting her general scent even further acclimated than usual. He allowed his tongue to slip out, swiftly, firmly, although carefully brushing the ferret’s cheek. Pulling back for a moment, he smacked his lips, getting the general sense of her taste – meaty with a soft tang, and the peculiar hint of strawberries. Strange, yet somehow irresistible. The panther’s steely eyes met her gentle blue orbs – the willingness was more than there – no, it was eager, of all things – even in spite of the current situation, and it seemed with every second she only pulled closer to him.

The insistent growling of his stomach only urged him on quicker: it was either now, or never. As the former was all but forgotten at this point, whatever he was going to do had to happen this very moment.

Carefully, Levi brought Isabel forward, amazed to see that her desire for this little experiment hadn't changed. He opened his mouth as wide as he could, sliding her head in, following her shoulders. The grumbling and impatient gurgling of his stomach was almost unbearable now, seeming to understand all too well the sizable, surprisingly excited morsel about to meet it, and in a moment of instinctual control the desire took him over, too. His tongue curled around her, wanting nothing more than to adore her appetizing flavor, and to swallow her down where both of them could be content.

“Seems like yer liking this a lot more now, huh?” Isabel couldn't help but giggle as the slick, barbed tongue swiped over her fur, drenching her in saliva. She had trouble seeing much at this point, only small crevices of light seeping in the partially open portions of Levi's maw. She didn't mind the situation one bit – sure, the spit was a little uncomfortable, although it was nothing worse than anything else in the underground. She could feel the panther’s soft uvula tickle her muzzle, throat expanding to all too eagerly allow her passage down towards the massive, ravenous stomach somewhere far below.

Levi readjusted his grasp, tilting the ferret’s form upwards to begin her descent downward. He could feel every inch of her slender form as it passed by, purring softly as he felt her shoulders slide into his esophagus. Based on the strange yet comforting sensation around his throat, he could only assume the ferret was gently massaging the walls as she met them, allowing him even more comfort that she was far past fearful. More and more of the polecat disappeared down his throat, swallowing every time with more confidence than the last.

The tight throat muscles finally seemed to let off, allowing Isabel's head to poke through. Certain of what came next, the ferret extended her arms, allowing herself to meet the delighted, gurgling stomach fluids with a soft splash. Coughing a little from the abrupt landing, Isabel attempted to straighten herself out the best she could, feeling her torso, legs, feet, and tail follow suit.

The splash that followed made Levi momentarily shudder, coming to terms with what he'd allowed to happen. He could feel every bubble, gurgle, and squelch his distended, delightfully gorged stomach had to offer in response to his comrade’s arrival. He could feel her shifting around a little, trying to get herself situated. Finally able to breathe, Levi reclined on the sofa, placing one hand over his stomach protectively, to show he was still there, still aware of her situation.

“Are you certain you're alright, Isabel?”

Isabel heard his voice loud and clear, the sound of it making noticeable vibrations along the stomach wall. She couldn't see a thing, although could catch the occasional whiff of the strange stench associated with the acids and previously digested meals, hear the deep, monotonous rumbles and gurgles of her big brother’s overjoyed gut, feel the churning walls and bubbling stomach fluids that seemed to be up to her chest lying down. Nothing, nothing seemed to be in effect though – she could sense no numbing, burning, or otherwise disconcerting sensations on her fur or flesh.

Deciding it better to respond lest keeping silent too long would frighten her comrade, she patted the stomach wall, nodding in spite of the fact he couldn't see it. “Yep, I'm fine! Besides, it’s actually really cool in here.”

“That's good to h-“ Levi cut himself off upon her last comment, uncertain of how to respond. “… Pardon?”

“Ya heard me right,” Isabel piped up once again, her response muffled by the dense layers of muscle yet still audible from the outside. “I'm fine, and frankly I dunno why I was so worried about this earlier.”

Levi couldn't help but roll his eyes in spite of himself. “Only a fool wouldn't be,” he murmured in response. “There's a reason you're hard-wired to avoid it. Just promise me you won't be forcing yourself down the throats of random predators, and you should be fine, though,” Levi replied, kneading into his stomach with a couple light swipes of his fingers. “Let me know if anything happens, and I'll spit you out immediately. Other than that, make yourself comfortable – you might be in there for some time.”

Isabel relaxed even more upon these words, allowing her hands and feet to sink into the soft, pillowy flesh. “Oh, I don't mind.” The ferret pressed her hands into the walls, kneading them enthusiastically. “Damn, it's really soft and warm in here… And pretty bubbly, too! Seems like your stomach’s pretty happy, huh?”

Levi was completely unprepared to answer these comments, rolling his eyes and pretending he didn't hear her. “I'll be a lot happier to know you get out safe and sound than anything else,” he finally responded, although immediately relaxed upon the sensation of those deep, through rubs; if the feeling was comforting on the outside, it was all the more heavenly on the inside. His muscles relaxed, stretching out a little as he took in the comfort from the internal massage. No scrap of carrion had ever provided this much comfort for sure, not from physical presence nor from sentimentality. But the relief only seemed to spread the more Levi could feel his little sister situating herself, squirming around, and snuggling up to the plush, undulating walls – it felt delightful to get the knots and cramps all sorted out within his belly, and even more so to realize just how close Isabel was to him now. She was right there, embedded deep within his very core, where nothing and nobody could hurt her now. 

Five minutes, ten minutes, fifteen minutes elapsed and the joyous bubbling and fizzing and squelching of his fiercely churning stomach continued on, although it was apparent by the persistence of those little squirms and snuggles that nothing had changed in Isabel's stamina, no acids or enzymes were eating away at her, no threat of digestion was eminent. It was, of course, apparent that his stomach was indeed trying, although not a single bit of success met the organ, and nor should it.

After quite some time, Isabel blinked, stretching out and giving a soft yawn. Turning herself over in the cramped, sodden space, she laid her head on the crook of her arm, softly kneading into the thick gastric muscle beneath her with a contented sigh. The walls of her older brother’s stomach rocked her comfortably back and forth, their consistent squelching and churning much more like relaxing hugs than anything else, the relief washing over her as they took their wok turn in massaging her throughly. Though there was something else more intentional: a deep, firm, powerful rub from the outside, strong yet gentle. The stroke ran down her neck even through the thick muscle, down her back and into the aching spot in her shoulder blades. And all along she knew well this was Levi's way of showing his affection, however nonverbally, the beat of his heart indicating he was more relaxed than ever. His breathing was the right pace, and it seemed he was able to draw in enough breath to keep himself alive, and swallow down more to keep her from suffocating.

All along it had indeed been Levi by her side, from when she was an infant thrown out to die, when he'd bandage her up and hold her tight when she hurt herself, and would run his fingers along her fur and scratch her back until she fell asleep. This was much like one of those times, rested up against his chest and able to hear the steady beating of his heart and the persistent babbling of his full stomach, knowing that somewhere deep down the muscles were churning and acid was aiding the digestive process all the while. And somehow, she remembered finding comfort in that sound all the same as a younger child, listening to Levi scoffing at her softly in response.

But of course, this time it was different. Snuggled up within his chest, she could take it in all the better, still amazed by the way everything felt and sounded in the pit of his stomach. Even she knew it was strange to find it comforting, and yet that was exactly what it was. Because she knew clear as day that she would get out within a couple hours; Levi would cough her back up, clean her off, and things would go mostly back to normal. She would not have to feel the disconcerting sensation of digesting alongside everything else, no – she could just enjoy this now, and know her life wasn't ending – it was just beginning.

Levi raised an eyebrow curiously as he noticed the sizable bulge in his belly had ceased her squirming, settling down to listen intently to the strange bubbling, groaning noises that still remained. The panther continued to stroke her form gently, until it finally seemed she had settled in and almost fallen asleep. Even still, her presence never faded, the comfort of the situation almost eternal: the predators of the Underground could be problematic, sure, but they couldn't hurt her in his own belly.

Not now, not ever.

Levi felt the occasional shift in Isabel's position, although she grew still, her posture more and more relaxed by the second. “Goodnight, Levi,” she yawned, curling up one last time and allowing the melody of gurgling stomach fluids, steady breathing and a tender heartbeat to lull her to sleep.

Rather touched by her trusting nature, Levi gave his stomach one last pat, settling down for a little bit of rest himself.

“Goodnight, my little morsel.”

A full smile curled around his lips, releasing a happy sigh; for all the nerve Isabel had about the whole ordeal, maybe it wasn't so bad after all.

 

The hours passed by pretty comfortably for both of them, with very little words in between. Every so often Isabel would yawn and settle herself into a more comfortable position, but was mostly still. After some time it seemed she’d grown completely still, the only true indications she was still alive being her heartbeat and slow, steady breathing. But it was more than enough for the time being.

Eventually, though, the time would come when he'd have to get up and she'd have to get out, and they'd both have to face the real world together once more. 

Levi hesitated a moment, debating whether now was the right time; in most cases it seemed like it would be, although he truly hated to wake her. Although even still, that shouldn't be the most major deterrence; after all, getting too comfortable at any point in life was dangerous, he'd found. Giving a small, reluctant grumble, he stretched out, sitting up on the sofa with some difficulty, thanks to the fullness of his stomach.

Still contemplating it, Levi decided there was no issue with getting a few things sorted out around the house, and if Isabel woke up in the midst of them then that was fine. He picked up the serum, looking it over, looking down at his grumbling stomach, and rubbing a hand softly over it to check and see if it was needed. Nope – still no indication of her form weakening, no signs of digestion. Good – that was how things should be, anyways. Allowing himself a moment, he slipped the vial back into the pocket of his pants, settling a hand on his stomach and gently tapping on the sleeping ferret’s form from the outside. He picked up the collar next, looking it over with the various wires, able to practically feel the electrical current embedded within. 

_Guess I won't be needing this anymore._

 

Running his finger across the brim, he finally managed to fold it up, heading towards the drawer and carefully placing it in. Even if he wouldn't admit it, it was more a relief than anything else to finally be finished with the damned thing.

It was ironic, he couldn't help but keep thinking, how he'd tried so hard to keep himself from losing control and devouring her, yet here he was: a bellyful of ferret and still trying to figure out how he'd managed to agree to this.

Sure, it was nice this way, but that was beyond the point.

The panther walked down the hall, straightening up the occasional pillow or trinket that was out of place – some of these things apparent as things that needed to be dealt with, and others simply pondering to waste time. No, he didn't want for this all to be other.

Because when she was back out, Isabel would have to find her own way. At the moment, he could protect her, but no, not forever.

More minutes passed in silence, save for the occasional bit of oxygen he swallowed to make sure nothing happened. Levi snapped out of his momentary musings, a sleepy mumble and squirming turning his attention to his stomach. He could only reasonably assume that meant Isabel was waking up once more, mumbling something incoherent and making his way to the bathroom.

Tail flicking back and forth, he made his way over to the tub, crouching over. Grunting softly, he took a deep breath, hackles rising as he began to cough in hopes of triggering his gag reflex. It took a few moments of hacking, although the process took much shorter than expected: it wasn't long at all until he could sense the somewhat startled ferret traveling upwards. Opening his jaws wide, Levi allowed her feet and tail to emerge, followed by the rest of her rather quickly after. The ferret landed softly on the bathtub floor, squinting uncomfortably from the sudden intake of light.

Ears flicking this way and that, Isabel searched around nervously for her older brother, more than simply relieved to see him still present.

“How about a little more warning next time?” She raised an eyebrow playfully, her tone far from upset. Upon her remark, Levi removed his hand from his aching chest, ruffling her sodden, acid-coated, saliva-slicked fur, surprisingly untaxed by the whole ordeal.

Levi rolled his eyes. “What do you mean ‘next time?’ Are you really expecting that?”

Before Isabel could respond to the question, Levi reached over for the faucet, turning it to the right setting. The panther proceeded to kneel down beside her, locating a bar of soap and rubbing away at the chemicals – at this point, much more to assure her safety than for any cleanliness standards, but either way it was better if the gunk didn't make its way into the rest of the house. The ferret uttered not a word of protest, sitting quietly and allowing him to scrub away the remaining gastric chemicals. Once finished, he let her soak in the soapy water for a couple minutes, before offering her a towel.

Isabel took it from him appreciatively, stepping out of the water and drying herself off. Giving Levi a mischievous look, she shook the remaining water off herself in a canine fashion, causing the majority of her fur to stick up in catastrophic disarray. A couple spare strands on her head she groomed forward, although it didn't do much – and in any case, Levi wasn't going to argue with her about it. Free of the caustic chemicals, she approached her older brother comfortably, giving him a grin and nuzzled her cheek against his side.

Purring, Levi hugged her close, placing a hand under her chin to get a better look at her. His expression was beyond soft, although an undertone of his general stern nature still lurked within his silver eyes.

“Let me see your hands for a moment.”

Isabel held them out, watching curiously as Levi pressed in on each digit, and then her palms. Nothing out of the usual he could see from them.

“You can feel that, right?”

Isabel regarded him curiously. “Yeah, why?”

“I'm just making sure your nerves didn't take any damage.”

“Ah geez, Levi - I'm telling ya, I'm fine,” Isabel scoffed, ears folding back in embarrassment. “Ain't like I numbed out or anything.”

“That's all I need to hear,” Levi mumbled, holding her out at arm’s length from him. A through look over her came to the same conclusion: no portion of her had faced any form of acid damage whatsoever.

“Well I'll be,” Levi murmured in utter amazement, brushing his hand against his little sister’s cheek, “there's not a scratch on you. Not a single strand of hair is out of place.”


	4. Prowess

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More an extra chapter than anything else, in which Isabel learns how to properly defend herself. Probably the shortest one I'll have in here.

From that moment on, Isabel was braver and more confident than ever. With no secrets still lurking between her and her older brother, the panther seemed more at ease, and his certainty and comfort allowed Isabel, too, more than enough security. By this point, the shock collar was long forgotten – Levi insisted on keeping it in the drawer for emergencies, but promised it was only for the off chance, like the serum, that something were to happen. For the most part, though, her immunity was enough to keep them content: it meant that Isabel no longer feared the predators that lurked along the streets, and Levi no longer feared doing her any harm, and to a certain extent confidence that the other fiends in the area couldn't, either.

Even still, he insisted on giving her some other way of defending herself. He had long since insisted Isabel have a weapon on her at all times when they roamed around the foul reaches of the Underground, usually his own knife, although decided now that she was fifteen she was about old enough to get her own. He managed to strike a deal with Hanji on a particularly nice one: a small dagger with a leather pommel, and a serrated silver edge. While it meant he'd have to help Hanji with their various scientific experiments later, it was well worth it if it meant his little sister wouldn't be as easy a target.

From there he taught her how to properly use it, aside from the rules of thumb he'd given her prior. He'd take her out to a cavern on the outskirts of the Underground, teaching her every maneuver, every strike, and every self defense mechanism he knew. Whole resistant in nearly every way to any other derivative of education, something about it clicked with her: she learned quickly, found innovative ways to block Levi's advances and knock the blunt knife out of his hand. It wasn't long until he didn't have to hold back much anymore, and restrained himself only from the final blows. Isabel's long, slinky body and unpredictable movements made her exceptional in combat, to the point where it was nearly impossible to reason out her next move.

For weeks still Levi brought her out for combat, at the end of which both of them were exhausted. Though she improved each time, making it infinitely worth the effort.

“I think you've finally got it,” he finally murmured aloud, rubbing an aching shoulder. “Nicely done.”

Beaming, Isabel ran up and hugged him, eyes bright with an empowering feeling of success. “Thank ya, Levi – I won't let ya down.”

Levi pulled her close, giving a playful growl as he scratched her back. “I'm sure you won't,” he assured. “Now, it's getting kind of dark out – probably a good time to head back.”


	5. Close Call

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes chemical immunity and fighting dexterity simply aren't enough to keep one safe.
> 
> Sometimes predators aren't always as shady as they seem.
> 
> ***WARNING: Contains implied attempted sexual assault and semi-detailed soft, willing, safe vore (in separate instances during the chapter).***

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The first part of this chapter is a more predatory take on what happened to Isabel in the manga - if you've read it, you know which scene I'm talking about. The second portion is simply more setup to the plot, and introduction to another major character.
> 
> Technically, this chapter is skippable if need be as a lot of this will be gone back over later, although it's essentially the first taste of the plot's beginning.

_Come on - I'm sure she'll be back soon._

The panther’s onyx claws tapped the chair nervously, tail twitching. His ears constantly scanned the area, debating whether it was better to come out. Honestly, where the hell was Isabel now?

_She's hardly home this late…_

The ferret had long since been able to go out on her own now – for months after she proved she could defend herself, Levi had been perfectly content with letting her roam the streets herself. With a dagger in hand and that ever-so-helpful immunity of hers, she was hardly a target for hungry predators, especially when there were so many who had no such things out and about.

It'd been fine those times - she'd go out, find whatever she was looking for, and return. The first couple times he'd been nervous, afraid someone would get any ideas, but when night after night she returned home without a fur missing, he eventually fell content with her excursions, and no longer worried about them.

Ten thirty. Even when she'd lost track of time, the latest she'd gotten home was somewhere around nine. Maybe nine thirty, but never this late without a word. Something wasn't right. Something must've happened.

More certain of this than he would've liked, Levi stood up, heart pounding. He reached for the knife he'd set on the table, picking it up and placing it in its designated loop in his belt. His claws jutted out quicker than he'd liked, approaching the door, although before he could manage to three voices piped up.

“Hey, come back here, you twat – why are you running away like that?”

“Yeah, little pipsqueak - we're just looking for a little fun.”

“Get back!”

Levi's heart stopped as he heard the last voice: he could've mistaken it with no other. She wasn’t far from the house, but her direction he couldn't tell. Wasting no time, the panther sprang out of the door, desperately sniffing around to try and decipher her scent, to pick up the location of her voice.

“Isabel!”

For a moment the ferret paused in mid-thought, surprised to hear her brother’s voice. The reality hit her much harder when the advancer, a sleek brown fox, pinned her to the ground.

“Quit your squirming, runt – make this easy for us, will ya?” The vulpine unsheathed their claws, fangs bared as they approached her…

Regaining her wits, Isabel made a broad slash with her dagger, praying it hit the advancing predator. The fox let out a shriek, his buddy rushing up to try and help him. Blood splattered everywhere, and in the chaos the ferret managed to kick the advancer away, bolting the moment she got the chance.

“Levi!”

Running at top speed on all fours, Isabel placed the dagger in her mouth and continued racing towards home. She could smell the place from her, smell the fear on her older brother, and what's more, the scent of the two foul beasts who'd attacked her not too far off in the distance. She could hear their quick, heavy footsteps, their voices full of rage. It was all enough incentive to keep her running back where she knew she'd be safe.

She'd make it, she knew she would. She just had to keep going and –

The crimson eyes of a wolf caught sight of her, steering her off course. The direction of home was much further off now, though she couldn't cost herself a detour. It seemed the whole alleyway was filling up with more and more shady figures, clearly drawn to something, but what?

Shakily looking around, the ferret reached up to touch one cheek. The answer to her question came all too soon, feeling the sting of a cut, and the trickle of blood. The scent of her blood would be enough for everyone to find her, she realized, and knew it all too well as another creature approached, her last direction cut off as the other two scoundrels blocked her on all sides…

“Why don't you give up, runt? One of us is going to get to you. Might as well just accept that…”

The wolf made it close enough to her first. Trembling with nowhere to run, the canid lunged, claws and teeth out, the reek of their breath reaching her all too quickly before they managed to –

A scream escaped the lupine’s jaws, as though they were being murdered. A knife split the air, digging into the wolf’s chest. A roar, and a final whimper escaped their jaws, their body cast into the shadows. Silver eyes regarded her, looking back to the crowd in horror. Swiftly, he reached over towards the panic-stricken ferret, giving her trembling form a prominent shake.

“Isabel!”

Shooting up, the young girl looked up at him a moment, immediately leaning forward to hug her older brother tightly. No words came out of her mouth, the only sound a soft, terrified chirping sound.

“What's wrong with ya, big guy - there's enough for the three of us there! Don't be such an ass!”

Levi regarded the pair of still-advancing figures in horror and disgust, knowing well he had to act fast. Dropping to all fours, he secured the scruff of Isabel's neck in his teeth, bounding at full speed back to their apartment.

The moment he arrived at the doorstep, Levi placed Isabel down in the doorstep, assuring she had her dagger before turning his attention to her. Shaking, he looked her over, fur a mess.

“Are you… Okay? Did they hurt you…?”

Isabel was shaking so hard it was hard to get anything out of her, trying to stop the tears from trickling down her face. Attempting to soothe her, Levi gently wiped them away from her eyes, although wound up reaching too far towards her cheek and causing the ferret to recoil.

Confused and concerned, the panther gently turned her head, heart skipping a beat as he did: for the moment he was able to see it, the mark was there - a deep, bleeding gash tore through her cheeks, staining the cream-colored fur on them just as crimson as the rest of her fur.

In those moments, terror changed to rage. He could still hear three creatures bounding up the steps, their voices mocking, trying to display aggression.

“Hey, if you don't come out this door right this instant, we'll tear it down, you overgrown cat! You clearly don't want to play this out fairly, so we don't have to give you that luxury.”

“Or hand over the prey, and we'll go on our way. Which is going to be, pretty kitty?”

“Why don't you show your filthy ass and get out here so we can show you who the boss is, three against one – you won’t last long.”

And all along, he could see Isabel shivering, completely stripped of any confidence she had. The feisty, bold polecat had been completely reduced to a shaking mess, the words of the roaming predators outside torture.

Levi simply wouldn't stand for that.

Murmuring a warning for Isabel to stand back and stay inside the house, he bolted back out again, a fire igniting in his eyes. The moment the trio of fools saw him, they laughed – although their advances were short-lived, if not nonexistent. Levi grabbed the first one of them by the neck, ramming them forcibly into the door. A shriek, a crack of the neck, and then nothing from them. The second turned away worriedly, although a slash to the throat quickly ended this, as well as their life. The third one bolted down the stairs as quickly as they could, panic-stricken and knowing well the feline before him was more than a formidable foe, and much more a deadly threat. They managed to gain grounds against the panther for a moment, although a swift bite of the back of their neck forced them to collapse. Waiting only a moment to assure the body of the predator was lifeless, Levi headed back, opening the door quickly, and closing it just the same.

A single look at his dripping knife and bloodstained teeth was enough for Isabel to know well what had happened, relaxing the slightest bit although not enough to completely settle down.

“Those bastards won't bother you again,” Levi growled, wiping the blood off his knife with a cloth, licking the foul fluid from his teeth. “They won't be able to hurt anyone anymore - I'm quite positive of that.”

Isabel’s fur relaxed a little, turning towards him slowly. “Thanks, Levi.”

The panther turned towards her, confused. “For what? Do you really think I would've left those bastards alive? There's no need for that, Isabel – you didn't do anything wrong.” He approached her as calmly as possible, forcing his hackles to relax and knelt down beside her. Extending a paw, he waited for her to accept it, concerned as to the couple moments it took her to do so. “Now, may I take a look of that cut of yours?”

Isabel nodded, tail twitching. She didn't respond, although her insistence on staying by his side made it apparent. He walked her over to the kitchen sink, pulling out a small bottle of disinfectant. “This might sting a little,” Levi warned, applying it to a towel and gently dabbing it along the width of the scratch. Isabel hissed softly and winced, although otherwise stayed still and quiet as she allowed her brother to attend to her wound.

“How the hell did this happen?” The question escaped Levi's mouth calmly yet seriously, placing the cloth down to pay full attention to his little sister.

Isabel opened her mouth to speak, closing it quickly as she felt a shudder come on. She avoided eye contact with him, ears flattening against her head, much as they had a year ago when she'd discovered the nature of her brother’s secrecy.

The very notion of it made him sick.

“I was just walking around, mindin’ my own business,” Isabel finally began, still avoiding his worried gaze. “For the most part, it was going alright, ‘till I caught sight of them bastards.”

Levi raised a brow, suspicious. “… And what after that?”

“They were picking on this little rabbit, tryna hurt em’ – when I say small, I mean I'm pretty sure it was a lil kid or somethin’ who lost their way. Well, I wasn't just gonna walk off knowing they were doing that, especially when the filthy lot of em’ could just grab something from the pile –“

“ – So you went off in the midst of the group and decided to divert their attention to you, thus leading you into this whole mess?” Levi shook his head. “Oh, Isabel.”

“I figured they'd just go off, try to eat me, and I mean, if they did they wouldn't be able to break me down or nothin’,” Isabel snapped defensively, giving a half-hearted shrug. “But then they told me they ain't looking to just swallow me whole and then…” Isabel's fur shot up from beneath her vest. “… Then I knew it was more than I could handle, and I wasn't able to quite get out of it.”

“You need to tell me you told them you were immune?” The panther had to avoid raiding his voice in disbelief with all his willpower, placing a hand on his forehead. “Isabel… What's the point in that? Then they'll just find another way.”

“I thought they'd leave me alone, alright?!”

Levi leaned back, somewhat surprised at the ferocity in her tone. It didn't last long, however, shrinking back to her uncomfortable state. “I'm sorry, Levi…”

“Hush.” The panther settled a hand on her other cheek, gently lifting her chin up. “I understand your intentions, but you got yourself into a hell of a lot of trouble. If you need help with something like that again, come get me, alright?”

Isabel shrank further back.

“I thought… I could handle it…”

Levi immediately tensed upon seeing new tears forming in the corners of her eyes, placing a hand on her shoulder. Given the circumstances, he didn't want to immediately reach out and hug her lest it make her uncomfortable, although it seemed her reaction was precisely the opposite. She latched onto his shoulders in response, hugging him tight, and Levi scooped her up carefully in his arms. Neither of them wanted to let go, settling down together on the couch.

“You're going to have to learn some day that you're not invincible, you know? A lot of people will try to hurt you, and you're going to have to be better prepared to endure it.” His words were softly put, although it was apparent from the way he said it they were best paid heed to.

“I really thought I was –“

Levi tousled the fur on the back of her neck, hushing her softly. “I know. I know it's hard, but try not to think of that now. Those bastards are dead – they can't hurt you now.”

Isabel didn't respond, although seemed to understand, relaxing in his grasp. The panther remained by her side for the better portion of the night, holding her close and assuring he'd be there for her as long as she needed it. Occasionally he'd attempt to brush out her unkempt for, although eventually ceased this as it wasn't accomplishing anything. The majority of the night was silent, and for a good long while it seemed the ferret had finally relaxed enough to get some rest. Occasionally she'd twitch and whimper, then grow still – it would take years if not her lifetime to heal from the situation. Levi knew this much better than he would've liked, especially with the understanding they'd attempted more than eating her by the way the beasts spoke…

“Do ya… Do ya at least think the kid found his family?”

Levi regarded Isabel worriedly; her voice was hardly audible, even when she was snuggled right up against him.

“I mean, I know he managed to run but… How far do ya think he got?”

“I don't know, Isabel,” Levi replied softly after a moment. “There are a lot of predators out there, you know.” The panther blinked. “Lots of apathetic predators,” he corrected.

“Yeah, I know…” Isabel seemed anything but comforted by this response. “I just… I just hope he did…”

Levi paused a moment, uncertain of how he could help. “Do you want me to go out and see if I can find him? Would that make you feel a little better?”

“Yeah…” Her voice trailed off again, eyes closing the slightest bit. “Thanks, Levi.”

The panther sat up, once again scooping her up in his arms. Quietly, he padded into her room, laying her down on her bed. Even if he was certain she'd come running right into his own room in a while, he thought it better to give her some space, tucking her under the covers and laying a kiss on her forehead. He paused a moment to assure she'd be alright, before tiptoeing out of the room, into the living room, and out the door. He hated to leave her alone at this point, but if it'd help her in any way, it was damn well worth the trouble.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Peter!” On another corner of the Underground, a mother rabbit cried out. Her other four children hopped right alongside, equally worried for their sibling.

“Peter! Where are you?!”

The group never seemed to stop, heedless of the predators who could be lurking around every corner. Of course, this wasn't the case this night; after witnessing by eyes or ears what had happened to the four that had decided it best to attack Isabel, they decided against wandering the streets – especially as his scent once again filled the area as he went to scrounge around. While most nights would've been filled with hunters, there wasn't a single one in sight…

Well, aside from one other, anyways. Golden eyes gleaming, hearing the sound of the rabbits loud and clear, picking up on their scent and moving forward.

“What seems to be the problem, miss?”

The rabbits stopped, the younger ones cowering behind their mother. A wolf slipped from out of the shadows, his silvery pelt glinting in the dim light of the street lamps and slivers of moonlight that descended through the cracks of the underground city. A soft, sincere aura surfaced on the amber of his eyes, surprisingly understanding and empathetic. He wore a long shirt with a ribbon holding it together at the collar, and a pair of brown pants. He extended a paw for the rabbit, who immediately shrieked and attempted to bolt.

The wolf’s ears flicked back, tail drooping as though hurt. “Now now, I'm not out here to hunt you down. The Underground is a nasty place – I just think you might want to reconsider walking around in such a vulnerable manner. Plenty of uncivilized preds might easily come over and try to make a meal out of you.”

From beneath her bonnet, the mother rabbit’s eyes narrowed suspiciously. “Sure you don't mean yourself?” Her tone was as sarcastic as it was acidic.

The wolf blinked, regaining his composure. “Ma’am, I am a predator of the law. I do not hunt, simply feed off of carrion as we predators are legally permitted. I just noticed you were in a bit of a situation, and figured a self-respecting prey wouldn't be running off into the dark where someone could find you and think otherwise…”

The rabbit stood up, foot stamping impatiently. “What's your business, mutt?”

The wolf acted taken aback, placing a hand on his chest. “Oh, me? Nothing, nothing - I just make it a habit to assure the safety of the prey in all parts of the city. Thought I could offer you my assistance, as I understand your current standpoint. Given your skittish and desperate demeanor, I'm taking it you lost someone?”

The rabbit seemed to finally drop her defensive tone, pulling on her ears. “Oh dear god, my son! A couple of predators took him and ran, and I'm not sure where they went.”

The wolf tilted his head. “Could you list the predators?”

“I-I'm not entirely certain, but I saw a brown fox, a mutt, a wolf and some other creature…”

The canid’s brows furrowed. “Was any of them by any chance a bear?”

“Yes, that was the one,” the rabbit responded, shaking nervously. “… Why?”

“Well…” The wolf inhaled sharply, as though nervous. “There was a panther out earlier, and I'm pretty damn sure he killed the lot of them. Looked to me like the five of them were after the same prey – I would've intervened, but once I saw the big cat meant business…” The wolf chuckled nervously. “Well, I wasn't sure I was ready to die yet, let's put it at that.”

The rabbit’s heart skipped a beat. “It wasn't-?”

The wolf shook his head. “No, it wasn't. Some ferret, actually. Strange – I don’t know how she got herself into the mess but… I get the sense she didn't get out of it, I'm afraid. I've got no clue about your son, but –“ He attempted once more to sway her, kneeling down and extending his paw again. “I could help you look for him, if you'd like.”

“Oh, thank you –“ The mother rabbit extended her paw enthusiastically, although pulled back, still suspicious. “But what's the catch?”

The wolf raised a brow. “The catch?”

“You wouldn't simply help a rabbit, I'm well aware of that. What are you really doing it for?”

“Absolutely nothing like that, but since you asked, er…” The wolf placed a hand behind his neck nervously, sweat rolling down his forehead. “It'd be irresponsible to let a rabbit like yourself simply roam around, especially with little kids, so I might have to –“ Before he could finish the thought, a loud, deep rumble erupted from his stomach. Horrified, the mother stepped back, her children as far back from him as she could allow them.

“No no, it isn't like that, I promise!” The wolf sighed, seeing as the whole endeavor wasn't going to be easy for him. He pulled a square vial from his pocket, filled with an ever-familiar amber liquid. “Surely you recognize this stuff?”

The mother gaped at it, though soon nodded solemnly. “Yes, I am well aware of what it is.”

“You see,” the wolf continued, “here's how I usually go about this: I swallow this fluid first, assuring that nothing is active first. I can drizzle some on you and your your little ones as well for some extra protection, if you'd like. I'll go ahead and swallow the lot of you down, giving you shelter and protection in my belly while I find the child. Once I do, I'll bring your whole family back to my place, get you cleaned off, and have you brought to the police station in the morning. The cops will know what to do to help you, and if they know you've been attacked by a predator, then they'll get you housed in the upper city pronto. Of course,” the wolf grinned sheepishly, “I can't do a thing without your agreement.”

The rabbit mother looked up at him worriedly. “And you promise me this isn't a trick so you can just easily devour us all?”

“Absolutely not,” the canid replied, his voice lacking even the slightest tremor. “From one parent to another.”

The lagomorph sighed, approaching him with no hesitance. “I suppose it's our best option…”

The wolf nodded, uncorking the vial. He lifted the fluid to his mouth, taking a swig of the contents. Almost immediately, the effect was apparent: several loud, bubbly groans filled his gut, indicating discomfort. Wincing, the wolf settled a hand on his stomach, then looked over at the mother.

“How do you want to do this – do you want me to swallow you first or -?”

“It doesn't matter,” she mumbled, rather defeated. “However you think is best.”

The wolf nodded, scooping her up. “Think that might be best, then – that way, you can get the kids comfortable as they come down.”

Without another word, the wolf brought her up to his mouth, administering a small lick, and poured a small portion of the serum over her. The mother rabbit cringed, making the canid pause a moment. “Still alright?”

“Just get on with it,” she shuddered.

The wolf looked over her solemnly, indicating he'd heard. “You might want to close your eyes, ma’am,” he warned, and the bunny acknowledged this suggestion and followed it. Carefully, the wolf opened his jaws wide, slipping the form of the rabbit inside. He had some trouble getting her in at first, although the moment he closed his jaws it was somewhat easier. The children squeaked as they watched, trembling as the wolf tilted his head back and swallowed. A resonant gulp filled the area as the rabbit slid into his throat, forming a sizable bulge the canid could feel all too well, descending down his trachea, then esophagus, slipping down past his collarbone. Not long after, he felt her begin to poke through the entrance of his stomach, landing inside with a splash. Mumbling something incoherent, he waited for her to settle before turning towards the four children.

“Hey, hey – relax. Your mother’s perfectly safe inside – I won't hurt her, and I won't hurt any one of you, either.”

The small creatures hesitated a moment, though eventually came to terms with this fact. One by one they lined up, allowing the wolf to pour the serum over them and gulp them down. One, two, three of them quickly splashed in, the fourth little bunny trailing behind. Their mother scooped them up the moment they arrived in the rumbling depths of the wolf’s stomach, holding them close. Once the family was finally reunited, the wolf gave his bulging stomach a small, reassuring pat, before dropping down to all fours and running right along.

“Now to find the kid.”

*~*~*~*~*

At this point, Levi’s paws were aching, his success low. It seemed he had searched anywhere – everywhere – that a small bunny could possibly be, but still no luck. At least not until he heard a small squeal, turning towards the sound.

Looking across the street, he could see a wolf had gotten to the little white bunny first, hugging their green jacket close.

“Ah,” the wolf sighed, seeming relieved. “You must be Peter, I'm taking it.”

The child let out a small scream, trembling. “H-How do you know my name, m-mister wolf…?”

Levi crept forward, pressing his back against the front wall of the alleyway and preparing to unsheathe his knife. However, upon the wolf’s next words, he hesitated, taken aback by the fiend’s sincere nature.

“Your mother has been looking everywhere for you,” he responded, recoiling as the child scooted back.

The words only seemed to frighten the child more, cowering and whimpering. “Mama sent you? Mama, mama!” Upon getting little response, he looked back, fear in his blue eyes. “Where is she, mister wolf?”

The wolf hesitated, gritting his teeth. Finally he stepped forward, placing a hand on his stomach. “She's in here, waiting for you.” Seeing the way the rabbit’s eyes widened, he stepped back once more, giving the child some space. “Now, now - it's alright, little one. I won't hurt you, I promise.”

Levi found him scowling at the words. _Sure, like anyone would possibly believe a -_

“Peter!”

The voice was muffled, although it didn't take a genius to figure out it was a mother’s. The child’s ears shot up, surprised to hear her voice. “Mama! Mama, are you alright?”

“We're fine, Peter – oh, thank goodness!”

The young rabbit bounced up, excited to hear her voice so relieved. Convinced, the bunny looked over him hopefully, although a little sheepishly. “Could I… Join her, mister wolf?”

The canid sighed in relief. “Of course, squirt. Glad to see you're alright.”

Levi hesitated in the next few moments, unsure of what to think. Any move he did or didn't make could be deadly: if he left the family and the wolf was lying, they would all die soon. But if he slaughtered the beast and he was telling the truth, he could easily have killed the family himself. Pondering this for a moment as he heard the child squeak excitedly and the gulp that followed, he finally decided against it – he'd just have to hope the wolf was genuine, and leave any other doubts behind.

As the child made their way down into the wolf’s belly, the lupine made their way out from the area. Scanning the area, it seemed strangely sparse of preds to him, curious at this fact. He approached the entrance of the alleyway confidently, turning to head back – although something caught his eye, and he froze upon seeing the exact same panther as before.

The creature was clearly in a foul mood, sheathed knife at the base of their hilt, and a fatal glare spread across their face. Wide-eyed, the wolf regarded them a moment, before backing up and darting away as fast as he could. The panther watched him go in irritation, uncertain of whether he'd made the right choice: the wolf best have meant what he'd promised, or else Levi was certain he wouldn't last much longer. Hell, he'd make sure of it if he had to.

Best not to think of that now. Already it seemed he'd been gone too long, and, somewhat defeated, he decided to head back.

The wolf watched him go, nervousness only subsiding as he disappeared back into the house. The rabbits squirmed a little in response to the rough movement, and the wolf waited a moment before moving on.

“Is everything alright out there, mister wolf?”

The canid’s ears pricked up for the sound of anyone following him, although relaxed a little when he found none.

“Don't sweat it,” he replied, shuddering slightly. “Let's just say a certain panther wasn't pleased to see me.”


	6. Just This Once

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Farlan arrives home to keep his promise to the rabbit family, while Eren and Armin decide to do a little voracious experimentation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, warning for safe, willing, and overall fluffy vore. Like 95% of this chapter is vore. I wasn't kidding when I said this AU would have a lot of it.
> 
> Essentially just giving whoever's reading this a window into the general life Armin has at home. While he's not a major focus in the overall story, I still love him and wanted to give him some sort of spot. That and I'm still a sucker for Eremin. :p

A small brown mouse skittered along a table. All was quiet in the reached of the upper city limits, and most people had gone to sleep. Curiously, the little rodent looked around, ears pricked for the possibility of another predator afoot. One hop along the table, and then another. Sniffing around, the creature made his way to the other side of the table –

A paw shot out before he could finally reach it, catching him by the tail. A startled squeak escaped him, before turning around hesitantly – only to meet the potential threat with a sigh.

“Really, Armin?”

The feline sighed, loosening his grasp. “I wouldn't have to do that if you would quit teasing me,” he mewed softly, tail swishing erratically in fascination. “All this running around – what of it? Are you actually trying to get me to eat you, dork?” The teasing nature of Armin's tone was apparent, a small smirk spreading across his face as he groomed his other arm with his tongue. “If that's what this is, then it’s sure working, Eren.”

“Psst – as if,” Eren murmured in response, moodily rolling his eyes. “You just seem bored lately – figured I might be able to help with that.” The rodent attempted to remove himself from Armin's grasp, although wound up simply falling on his face when he tried. “In any case, I know damn well you're medicated, and you've always got the serum on you. You're hardly a threat, you nerd. Still love ya, though.”

Upon watching Eren step forward, Armin released his grasp, allowing his boyfriend to give him a small kiss on the cheek. Armin returned this with a playful lick, then opening his jaws wide for the rodent to see. Eren stood there a moment, perplexed and impressed by the depths before him, from the eager tongue, sharp teeth, to the slick interior all the way to the back of the feline’s greedy gullet.

“Sure you're not scared?” Armin closed his jaws, sitting back up. He then proceeded to lean forward, brushing through Eren's fur with the harmless tip of a trimmed claw.

“Absolutely positive,” Eren replied, flicking the cat’s paw away in mild irritation. He settled down on his back, regarding his gigantic companion with an almost longing look. “You know, I actually wouldn't mind trying it out,” Eren replied with a shrug, his eyes settled intently on the surprised feline. “I've been awfully curious what it's like, honestly, to be curled up someplace to soft and warm and well… Protected. Because, well, you… Make me feel rather safe already, but in there… I'm sure it'd be even more so… And closer to you than I've ever been…” The mouse placed both his hands on his cheeks, making it all too obvious even under his fur that a red hot flush had taken over.

Armin seemed slightly taken aback, although his shock faded to the same sort of longing. “Frankly, I’ve been thinking the same thing for some time now – I just wasn't able to voice it willingly. I thought you'd take it the wrong way, to be truly honest – you know, since I'm a cat –“

Eren’s fur bristled in alarm, immediately scampering over with a concerned shake of his head. “Why the hell did you think that? We've known each other since we were kids – I already know you're just a big old softie.”

Armin blushed. “Really? Well, I guess that makes a lot more sense. Frankly I'm not sure what I was worried about…”

“It's fine. You don't have to worry – if anything like that were to happen, I'm positive it would've already. Besides, I trust you, Ar. I trust you with my life.”

Armin shifted back the slightest bit, taking the words of the small mouse into account. It wasn't long before the smile returned to his face, purring softly to himself. It took a couple moments before he managed to ask the question:

“Well, do you want to try it out and see how it goes?”  
Eren hesitated a moment, although nodded firmly as he approached the feline. Armin carefully picked him up by the tail, dangling the rodent above his mouth a moment, giving him one last look at it before sliding him in. Eren squirmed the slightest bit as he felt the feline’s jaws close partway around him, although chuckled softly as his lover’s tongue swiped over his minuscule form a couple of times, clearly enjoying his taste.

Armin finally managed to fully shut his jaws, slurping in the mouse’s tail. Purring softly, the feline was more than simply at ease – at least, up until the rattling of keys filled the room, the doorknob turned and door swung open to reveal a silver wolf.

“Ah, Farlan – I was wondering when you'd get back.” Armin pushed his lover to his left cheek, looking up at his father figure a little nervously. “How's it going?”

Eren grumbled something incoherent, crossing his arms as he laid back against the slick inside of Armin's cheek. _Of all times, he has to choose now to make an entrance? Geez…_

Farlan’s ears perked up, walking over to pat the feline on the head. “Hey there, squirt.” The wolf’s tone was content, if not at least a little playful. “Glad to see you again.”

Armin purred softly, although gave a confused mew upon noticing the muffled voices and squirming forms within the wolf’s stomach. The feline sighed, knowing well what had happened.

“You went down to the Underground again, didn't you? Another valiant rescue, I'm taking it?”

“Says the boy who's closest companion is a mouse,” Farlan scoffed, his demeanor still relatively upbeat. “But yes – a couple of rabbits got separated from one another, and I figured I might as well help them.” Farlan grinned bashfully. “Mind giving me a moment? I'd like to get them settled before it gets too late - it's getting a bit dark for the little ones to still be up.”

Armin nodded, giving Farlan a soft grin as he retreated to the other room. When the wolf was finally out of sight, the cat returned his attention to his significant other, reaching in to carefully pull him out and place him in the palm of his hand.

“Sorry about that, Eren. I wasn't expecting him to immediately walk in like that.”

Eren sighed. “It's alright, Armin – not your fault, anyways. I just feel like this happens a lot.”

“It'd probably work better if we went to my room instead of standing out in the open,” Armin mused. “There really isn't a better way to go about it, given Farlan's unpredictable arrival times.”

“I suppose you're right,” Eren shrugged, rubbing the back of one ear with his two clasped hands. “So… Do you want to try this again there?”

“I definitely wouldn't mind that,” Armin replied with a soft smile. “After all, we'd hardly begun.”  
Soft feline feet navigated the way to his room, back at the end of the house. The room was quiet, with the occasional howl from the wandering wolf outside, trying to locate others still up at this hour. Shutting the door, Armin was able to mostly block out the sound of his parental figure coughing up the family of rabbits into the bathtub a couple rooms away. Aside from this, it was silent, with the room all to themselves.

Armin approached the window, looking out of it for a moment. He then proceeded to clamber up onto his bed, placing his palm flat on his chest. Eren waited a moment to make sure that the cost had finally gotten himself situated, before looking over at him once more.

“Alright, you ready?”

Armin lay down, allowing the rodent to crawl up as he pleased towards the feline’s mouth. Every movement only made the cat’s stomach growl more, beckoning the little being to curl up safely inside. As he approached, Armin opened his maw, allowing Eren a minute before he reached it. Unafraid, Eren perched himself on Armin's chin, front paws on the flat portion of the cat’s teeth, staring into the slick, dark abyss. Crawling forward, Eren touched the edge of the tongue unfurling before him like a carpet, giving a soft chuckle and turning to the side as it licked him.

Eren scooted himself forward, and Armin drew his lip in to prevent his teeth from snagging the little mouse. Fascinated by the sensation and relieved to be able to experience it much slower this time, with no rush, Eren prepared himself to slide in.

“Wait.”

The mouse’s ears picked up on Armin's request loud and clear, returning to peer over at his earlier distance from the maw. He watched Armin pull the vial of that ever-so-familiar liquid out of his pocket, pouring the slightest bit into his mouth. The cat swallowed without even bothering to close his mouth, and Eren watched in awe as the liquid seamlessly streamed down the boy’s greedy throat, teasing him. The small brown mouse could already hearing it going into effect almost immediately, the strange bubbling, gurgling, groaning noises filling up the otherwise silent air around them. Eren scampered back up once more, still amazed at the strange, enticing, organic way everything looked within. Nearing Armin's maw once more, his heart skipped a beat, still trying to wrap his head around the whole ordeal.

_That's going to be me in a second._

As Eren finally mustered up the courage to slide in willingly, Armin allowed his jaws to open up wider, aiding the mouse in entering. The rodent did so calmly, diving in headfirst and allowing his friend to once again take note of his flavor. The tongue curled around him, coating him even more densely in the thick, slimy spit, vibrations and tremors rising up from the feline’s throat, humming softly in response. A couple times he felt the tongue raise, as though about to guide him down to the desperate gullet below, although every time it settled down, curling around him delicately.

Eren couldn't help but roll his eyes a little.

_Now who's teasing who?_

A couple minutes of this passed, until the feline got somewhat tired of this. Yes, Eren's flavor was divine – savory and salty with a slight kick – although another grumble from his stomach signaled it was best to send Eren on his way. Armin placed a fuzzy paw on his bubbling stomach, rubbing it firmly with the promise of an ever-willing morsel in a few moments to come. Much as he wanted to wait for a little while, Armin knew well the moment wouldn't last: the gnawing ache in his belly reminded him all too well how long it'd been since he'd eaten, and surely any minute Farlan would come in to check on him –

Armin tilted his head back, allowing his tongue to brush the roof of his mouth, and pinning Eren between the two surfaces. The rodent’s head slipped forward, gradually sliding towards the muscular throat walls. For a moment, it seemed the feline’s gullet was deciding whether the mouse was small enough to swallow, bucking a little in hesitance. Upon realizing that he was, however, the muscles obliged, allowing Eren entry headfirst into their grasp.

The feline placed a hand on his throat, relieved to feel the soft, squirming bulge of his lover descending. He could feel the mouse’s quickened heartbeat as he slid further down, although picked up excitement over fear. The pleasant feeling continued as the rodent descended further, past his collarbone and into his chest.

Eren relaxed as he passed the lulling heartbeat of the cat, ceasing any little squirms and allowing the slick walls to carry him down. It didn't take long after that for him to feel a space opening up beneath him, allowing him passage into the space beneath him, depositing him gently into the feline’s stomach.

Immediately, Eren stood up, attempting to brush the extra saliva from his clothing and whiskers. When he had done so as satisfyingly as he could, he placed a hand on the stomach wall nearest to him, tail twitching as he looked around, taking in the new environment. He couldn't quite make out anything in the pitch black cavern of a stomach, although the rest of his senses cued him in well enough as to where he was. The rumbling and growling of the feline’s gut had ceased, replaced with the comforted sounds of gurgling and squelching, content with the little figure that had arrived to greet it. The fluids, while absolutely harmless to him, bubbled happily around Eren, and the slick, undulating walls expanded and constricted Eren’s minuscule form, as if reaching out to give him a hug. Occasionally, the walls dripped a little bit, although aside from this and the soft murmurs of the cat’s satisfied stomach, it was quiet, dark, and cozy. Allowing himself a moment to relax, Eren closed his eyes, sitting back to give the stomach walls around him a few deep, comforting rubs.

Armin placed a paw protectively over his stomach, listening somewhat worriedly at first to the noises from within. He couldn't hear his lover’s voice, although figured after a little while there was nothing he was missing – the little rodent was silent. The feline could feel every little movement Eren made within his belly, comforted by this fact – he was safe, something more than just the serum told him that. Something associated with those gentle, relaxing rubs on the inside seemed to be all the answer he needed.

“Comfortable in there?”

Eren felt the soft tremors associated with Armin's voice, ecstatic at its intensity and closeness. The rodent cracked open an eye, continuing to massage the walls around him before settling back once more.

“Yeah,” Eren chuckled. “Soft and warm, just like I thought it'd be.” Arms folded against his chest, Eren picked up on another sensation: the occasional thump of the cat’s pounding heart echoed from above, and he realized all too well the pulse of the larger creature. He'd always been able to feel it before, but never so closely, so intensely before. The acknowledgement of it worked wonders on the skittish rodent’s frail nerves, heaving a contented sigh and settling in.

Neither of the two said a word for some time, the presence of the other enough for both of them. Any communication from inside or out seemed to rely mostly on the occasional pat of rub, then nothing for some time. Tail swishing from side to side with an inquisitive hook at the end, Armin, too, took in and acknowledged the strange feeling for what it was: a soft, protective hug that had never felt this satisfying.

Off in the distance, Armin could pick up the sounds of the group of prey, greeted by Farlan upon their arrival – he'd left them to clean themselves off, no doubt, and was ready to escort them to the guest room. Surely then Farlan would assure them once more that he'd bring them to the station to identify the predators who had attacked them in the morning and wish them goodnight, before the wolf walked over to wish him the same.

Of course, Armin never doubted Farlan, but he still wished it was around more often than he was.

“Armin, you okay, pal?”

Armin blinked, snapping out of his momentary train of thought. No doubt Eren had picked up on the change in his heart rate, checking in to assure nothing had happened. It was moments like this when he was particularly grateful for Eren – and yet, best to reassure him.

“Yeah, I'm fine, don't worry about it,” Armin replied, although his ears still flattened against his head. “I've just been thinking, that's all.”

Eren felt around in the dark, wide space, walking over to another wall and softly kneading into it. He was well aware of the situation, although wasn't sure how to help, doing what he could to soothe his feline friend.

“It's alright. You should really mention it to him, though.”

“I know,” Armin murmured, growing silent immediately after. “Just… Give me some time.”

The feline could hear footsteps coming down the hall, softly padded feet finding their way all too well to his room. Even without looking, Armin could feel the wolf’s presence from outside, a single golden eye peeking in from the crack between the door and frame. There was a weary air to the lupine, although not one that seemed anywhere near taking over. Beside exhaustion, there was another aura the wolf presented: empathy and sincerity, the way he always felt to be around after a long day.

“Psst, kid – are you still awake?”

His voice rang with the doting notes that any mentor or father figure should have, although even from a distance Armin could practically feel those pained throbs of his heart. He hated to sense the wolf so weary, and felt it was better to give him his honest shot – after all, he was well aware Farlan was trying the best he could, and it pained Armin constantly to think of asking more of him.

Eren gave the feline’s stomach a soft internal nudge. “Now’s your chance.”

Upon hearing no response, Farlan's ears drooped, tail dragging behind him. He turned to go, before picking up on a sleepy grumble from his son.

“Hmm… Farlan?”

A soft smile spread across Farlan's face, his stamina picking up shortly after. “Ah, good. I thought I might've missed my chance.” His arm hung from the door frame, grinning sheepishly. “Mind if I come in for a moment?”

Armin sat up, shaking his head. “Feel free to – I don't mind.”

The door creaked open, the wolf following in and gently closing the door behind him. Ears directed at the source of the slightest sound, Farlan tilted his head. “Eren staying the night?”

Armin nodded, tail twitching in slight agitation. “Yeah.” 

Farlan nodded understandingly. “I'll let you two alone, then.” Upon seeing Farlan turn to leave, Armin reached out, gripping Farlan's shoulder hard. “N-No, it's alright – he doesn't mind.”

Farlan furrowed his brows. “Is something wrong?”

Armin swallowed, ushering Farlan over to the side of his bed. “Not exactly,” the feline admitted, uncertain of how to phrase his words. “I just… There's something I want to talk to you about.”

Eren leaned forward, his ears and tail twitching as he picked up the sound of Armin's booming voice. It hurt him to feel those anxious tremors in the golden cat’s voice, although knew better than to try and soothe his lover now. No, he needed time to work things out, and Eren was willing to wait for as long as needed for this to happen. Farlan sat down by Armin's side, facing him intently.

“Alright, Armin – what's troubling you?”

Armin reverted eye contact for a moment, before his self-conscious nature of this kicked in; once it had, the feline blinked, returning his gaze to his parental figure.

“It's just… The Underground…”

Farlan nodded. “I acknowledge that I've been taking quite a few trips down there recently. I apologize if that's been getting to you lately.”

“What…? No - that's not what I mean. It doesn't bother me that you're rescuing prey creatures and bringing them to safety – I respect that deeply, Farlan, and I hope I can be like that someday. It's just, the Underground… Why there, of all places?”

“The Underground is the only reachable place that has notable predator-on-prey hostilities, Armin. Not like you see today, with the occasional squabbling – predators murdering prey frequently, and for no reason. That's why I find the most effective to go down there.”

“I know that,” Armin mewed softly, “although I'm certain you're well acquainted with the Underground Surge?”

Farlan raised a brow. “You mean the reason the place was shut off for some time entirely, and why only those who know passages in and out ever make it through? I know the nature of that place better than you do, even with your detailed textbooks.” Farlan reached over to ruffle Armin's fur, hesitating a moment before Armin pulled his hand closer.

“You're going to get in trouble down there some day,” Armin insisted, tail swishing in discomfort. “I just know it. Not from the cops, of course – I know they're more than simply acquainted with you and your work surrounding the field. No, I mean from the beasts that lurk down there - you'll be down there convincing the prey to follow you, and all of a sudden a competitive fiend will come right up and –“

Armin raised a hand, unsheathing his tiny claws for effect. “They'll murder you right then and there, and nobody, nobody will ever know what the hell happened to you.”

Farlan shuddered, knowing all too well the truth in Armin's words: while he was careful as he could be, he'd witnessed the number of sizable beasts the panther had annihilated within mere seconds. The memory of that hostile glare still stung in Farlan's memory, unable to rid himself of those silver eyes and bloodstained teeth – hell, if the Underground housed even just that one monstrosity, it almost made him want to never return again.

_A split second longer and he would've mangled me… I'm sure of it._

Snapping himself out of his momentary uncertainty, Farlan hesitated before speaking, worried he'd have to tell Armin something he wasn't ready to hear.

“But there's one more thing, too…”

Farlan sighed in relief, glad Armin wasn't belaboring the point. “What is it? Please, tell me.”

Armin fidgeted, locking his hands together. “… And I miss you… You're gone for the better part of the day. I wish you were around more, so I could get to spend some more time with you, and know you're - !”

Without warning, the wolf leaned forward, locking Armin in a hug. Hackles falling from their momentary shock, Armin reached around the wolf’s broad shoulders, tightening his grasp around Farlan's neck. Gently, the wolf scooped him up, nuzzling softly into the cat’s thick fur, making sure the feline knew he was well loved.

“I'm sorry, Armin - I'll do the best I can to make it up to you.”

“It's alright,” Armin replied, kneading the wolf’s broad shoulders. “I know you're doing what you can, and I appreciate it.”

“I'll try to be around a bit more,” Farlan added, his gaze trailing to Armin calmly. “Once again, kid, I'm sorry I've been absent for quite some time now.”

“Don't… Don't sweat it,” Armin replied. “And thank you, Farlan.”

The wolf chuckled. “Any time, Armin.”

The feline allowed Farlan to pull down the covers, climbing into them. Once Armin had nestled down, Farlan pulled them back up over him, tucking him in. The canid stood up, leaning over to give the cat a kiss. Armin returned this with another hug, blinking slowly in the way cats do to show affection. Farlan exited shortly after, closing the door behind him to leave the two alone for some time.

Armin reached over for the serum, examining the label for its standard duration. Now that he'd gotten things cleared up with his adoptive parent, he was able to think much better, relaxing notably. “Should still be in effect for at least three more hours…” The feline placed his hand once more on his stomach protectively. It was strange, he realized, how well he could feel Eren's presence: the rodent seemed almost thrilled by his circumstances, surprisingly, and the feline could sense this even through the dense walls of muscular tissue. A single rub over the surface and he could physically feel the mouse’s tiny form beneath his fingertips, impressed to no end with the security he could provide in an instant. “Of course,” Armin mused aloud, “if you start feeling uncomfortable or want out sooner than that, that's also fine. I'm assuming you're still alright in there?”

“I'm fine.” Eren shifted a little, nudging the stomach walls that caved in the slightest bit above him. “And I'm taking it you're better?”

“Much,” Armin mewed. “I think things will work out from here – at least, I hope so.”

“Try not to stress about it too much, Ar,” Eren murmured, leaning against the slick walls. “I'm sure things will be fine, long as you're both careful.” The rodent’s tail tickled the walls as it shifted, causing Armin to giggle and curl inwards slightly – something that was quite noticeable from inside. “And you're okay out there, right?”

“Hmm? Yes, I'm fine. Sorry – I wasn’t quite prepared for that. Hopefully I didn't shake you up too much?”

“Hardly,” Eren replied nonchalantly, brushing the excess slime from his shoulders. “D-Don't worry about it.” The rodent reached out, running his fingertips across the plush surface of the walls. It was strange, really – something about them never seemed to get old about them, his fascination of his new surroundings far from fading. “A-Armin?”

Armin's ears pricked up expectantly. “Yeah?”

“Can I ask you something?”

“Of course. What is it?”

“Well, I'm wondering…”

“Mmh?”

“You know, I'm wondering how this feels on your side of the spectrum?”

Armin blinked from surprise, although quickly recovered. “It's quite nice, actually,” he murmured, rolling over to lay on his stomach. Placing a hand under it, he could feel the presence of his lover even better, closer, held closer in an internal hug. He could feel the fluids sloshing around as he did so, and Eren coughing faintly. “Oh – s-sorry…”

Eren gave the stomach walls a light tap. “Stop apologizing,” he chuckled, settling in once more where he lay. “You're okay, Armin – you didn't do me any harm.” Sinking into the pool beneath him, Eren stretched out to make himself more comfortable. “Is that all?”

Armin blushed. “Why do you want to know so badly? It's enough for me to hear you're comfortable for once any day in my life.”

“Surely that's not the only reason you say that, though,” Eren whispered. “I'd like to know that you're getting something out of this too, you sap.”

“If you insist…” The feline’s fingers kneaded inwards, a soft hum of solace rising in his throat. “I just like having you close - that's a big part of it, honestly. I like knowing that you're right here, and, well, that nothing can do you harm. That I can keep guard over you, and…”

Armin trailed off at he felt the soothing rubs inside his belly once more, resulting in a happy gurgle from within. “Goddamnit, Eren,” Armin murmured softly, a small smile returning to his face.

Eren pulled back momentarily. “Does it bother you? I would've stopped earlier if –“

“No no, I like it,” Armin admitted, somewhat flustered at this confession. “I just…” Armin snorted. “you always have to mess with me, don't you?”

“You make it too easy, you oaf,” Eren scoffed, nudging the stomach walls. “Besides, I know you like it.”

“Maybe just a little,” Armin replied, making a point to roll over on his side and give his belly a firm pat.

“Uh-huh.” Eren broke off, yawning. “Although Armin, could I ask you one more thing?”

The feline took a moment. “Go ahead.”

Eren shifted a little. “Would you mind spitting me out? It's getting a little cramped in here.”

“Of course,” Armin replied, rolling back the covers. “Just give me a moment, and I'll get you right out.”

The feline vacated his room, turning to the bathroom. It only took a moment once he began his attempts to cough the little rodent up – while Eren was definitely somewhat filling to the cat, he was still relatively small. The moment he was out, Armin set him on the rim of the sink, washing away whatever else had come up with him before allowing his lover a chance to wash himself off. Armin offered him a spare bar of soap, which Eren gratefully took in his little paws. Once he was cleaned off, Armin brought him back into the room, drying the brown mouse off with the corner of the sheets. Setting him on the desk, Armin pulled out a drawer and handed a set of clothes to his minuscule friend.

“Here – you left these here last time. I suppose they came in handy in this instance.”

“Thanks, Armin,” Eren replied, removing his sodden apparel and changing into the dry ones. “And, well, thanks for this opportunity.”

“No problem,” Armin grinned, leaning over to give his boyfriend a kiss. “The same to you – I've enjoyed this little experience.”

Eren leaned into Armin's lips, nuzzling up to the feline’s finger and soft, gentle strokes. The mouse rubbed his eyes, yawning.

“God you're cute,” Armin purred.

Eren didn't respond, although the smile on his lips was enough to convey no objection. The rodent stood up, facing the cat with a cheeky grin. “I think I'm going to turn in for the night,” Eren finally noted. “I'll see you in the morning, alright?”

“Sounds good.” Armin watched Eren clamber into his small bed on the nightstand, curling up beneath the covers. “Goodnight, Armin.”

Armin settled back in his own bed, rolling over and getting himself situated. His eyes closed before he could even think, drifting off soundly. 

The howling of the outer world hardly disturbed either of the two lovers as they settled in for the night, comfortably settled in the safety of the house; however, the outside world continued to creep into the crevices beneath the city and all. The problem was indeed the Underground, and the panther knew this well. With the horrific events of the night, the problem was all too apparent, and it was at this point that Levi knew they could stand it no longer. They'd taken the catcalls, braved the abhorrent lack of medications, and survived on nothing but rotting carrion, but this was the last straw. The Underground had crossed the line from heinous yet survivable to intolerably fatal.

And if it took the panther all of his strength to get them out of there, so be it.


	7. Give Me This Chance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Determined to do all in his power to get out of the filthy, fatal reaches of the Underground, Levi takes up an interview at the police department for a position on Predator Control.
> 
> And scores the position.

“If you will permit me to ask, Mr. Ackerman, why do you want to fill the opening for the Predator Control Division?”

Levi looked over the freckled chocolate lab in front of him, his expression conveying no apparent emotion. He knew well that a couple falsely-answered questions would cost him this chance, and figure it was best to show neither excessive desire for the position nor complete apathy. The question posed was one he was more than expecting, although hesitated on the words – good god, how exactly could he phrase it?

Straightening his back against the chair, he folded his hands in his lap, regarding the young boy with interest. “There are a couple of reasons for this. Mainly, I am in dire need to keep me and my sister alive, and the only way I see fit doing so is to move up to the surface. I do not mean to fool you – that is a significant reason why. But aside from that…” Levi straightened his cravat, trying to avoid fidgeting as much as he could. “The concern of unruly, unmedicated, and practically savage predators is an issue that hits close to home. I've seen what it does to the environment around everyone, destroying ties between animals, from the prey to the lesser predators, and to the alpha preds as well. I've seen the insecurity and danger that fills the streets and haunts each and every animal. And if accepted into this position, I will do my best to keep these things from happening.”

The lab nodded, pulling out the panther’s file. He held it out at arm’s length, pulling out a pair of reading glasses. “And you're from the… Underground?” The canine stiffened. “I'm taking it you're not medicated, then…?”

Levi's tail lashed, although otherwise kept himself under control. “Not by choice, sir – I've done everything I could to find any, but it seems clear to me the government doesn't give a rat’s ass about what happens down there and doesn't provide them down there.” The panther glanced over at the officer’s name tag. “Mr. Bodt.”

“I see…” The canid looked over the questionnaire, clearly avoiding the panther’s gaze. “I suppose that can't be helped, then. Although I'll need to ask you some questions…”

Marco regarded him as confidently as he could, although the tail between his legs indicated uncertainty, if not fear.

“Have you ever stalked or hunted down a prey animal or lesser predator, with the intent of harm?”

Levi shook his head, the answer clear. “No.”

“Have you tried to physically attack any species below you on the food chain?”

“I have not.”

“And, based on what's recorded, I'm taking it you haven't eaten anyone alive?” Marco looked up from his papers, pulling his glasses down to look over the tense panther. “That would be: swallowing living prey or lesser predators without the use of an indigestion serum, dismembering and devouring while still alive and / or conscious, or engaging unwilling creatures in voracious acts of any severity.”

Levi noticeably shuddered upon the description. “God no,” the panther grumbled, failing to maintain his composure.

The canid looked him over, perplexed, determining whether he wanted to ask the question. “Is there… Something wrong, sir?”

Levi shook his head. “No, I'm fine.” The panther avoided eye contact, a little uneasily. If he could help it, Isabel's immunity would be their little secret; he figured it would be much safer for her that way, and thus he couldn't say anything regarding it.

Marco shot him a nervous, although friendly smile. “Well, it looks like your record matches your responses quite well – I definitely don't see any prey-related felonies or murders on here.”

Levi nodded curtly, giving the Labrador an understanding look. Of course, the truth to this was faulty: he knew well what he'd done to the group of predators that'd attacked not a night ago, although not a single inch of his being regretted it for a second. The creatures were callous, violent, and indifferent to the comfort of their neighbors – hell, even if they hadn't attacked Isabel, they were much better off out of the world for everyone else. Creatures like those did not simply stop on one prey, after all: they would've done much make damage.

“I'll make note of that and see what the chief thinks.” Shuffling the papers, the dog removed them from the table, beginning to walk away. “Thank you, Mr. Ackerman.”

“Thank you as well for your time, Mr. Bodt.” The panther nodded curtly, rising from his seat. “I look forward to the response from the department.”

“Of course,” Marco replied with a polite nod. “Wish you luck.”

Marco escorted the panther to the front of the building, walking somewhat worriedly for much of the way. Levi definitely had a vibe to him that indicated he could ever-so-easily murder another animal without second thought, putting the canid on edge. Yes, sure, his records were clean, but there was still that aura about him…

… Of course, it was the aura Levi meant to put out; from personal experience, he'd found it much better to hide his true emotions so people couldn't use them against him. Marco certainly didn't seem like the type who would, but better safe than sorry.

 

They'd reached the top of the stairs and approached the door when a confident bark interrupted the silence.

“Hey, Marco!”

The mutt in question barked, his tail swishing back and forth excitedly. “Give me just a second, Jean!” Standing a little ways away, the dog watched the feline exit the building before turning to face his friend.

A German Shepard approached, tail wagging and a sly grin on his face. “Are you finished?”

Marco nodded. “I am now – the person I was interviewing just left.”

Jean tilted his head in bewilderment. “That panther was the one who signed up for the job? Doesn't it make more sense if a lesser pred takes it?”

“Not exactly,” Marco replied, nearing the stairs down to his office. “Anything under an alpha is a lot more vulnerable to other predators. Surely you know this by now.”

Jean shrugged. “Maybe, I guess.” His tail stopped wagging, concern spreading across his face. “But that guy? I dunno, he seems a little brutal.”

“Well, he is from the Underground.”

Jean stopped walking. “What kind of business does a guy like that have asking for a job here, then?! He should just run back to that place and keep his violent ass elsewhere.”

Marco sighed, ears flattening against his head. “You know the Predatory Controls Unit has been down several people for some time. Things aren't going downhill yet, but we're still getting murder and predation reports all the time. Besides, his records are clean, even without medications. Which is odd, I know, but even still.”

“Are you sure that wasn't a mistake? It isn't like many people go down to the Underground. You have to know some routes and shady shit to get in or out.”

“Farlan hasn't mentioned anything about that, and he comes down her just about triweekly with prey animals he's rescued. Hasn't once mentioned anything about that panther. Frankly, though, I think that wolf would be perfect for the job, but I know he won't take it.”

“But a member of the Underground? There's no way he's medicated.”

“Well, I did find something interesting while I was looking things up - he's got a younger sister, and it turns out she's a ferret. With that given setup, I honestly wouldn't be surprised if he's genuine.”

Jean gawked at his friend. “Sure he hasn't eaten her yet?”

“Her file says she's still alive, and I trust that information. She's been sighted pretty recently in the academic district.”

“Like a couple of months ago?”

“No – about a week ago, actually.”

“Huh.” The dog scratched his neck. “That is interesting. Anything else?”

“I don't think I should be disclosing the entire file out here, Jean. If you want to know something, then you're welcome to stop by and check.”

“I just don't know why on earth they'd let a beast like that in…” Jean rolled his eyes. “Because nothing says ‘keeping the city safe’ more than an unmedicated monstrosity.”

“If he gets the job, he will be, Jean,” Marco grumbled. “Everyone predator here has given out and their use regulated.”

“I sure hope so,” Jean murmured, shuddering.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

_Just give me this chance._

Levi settled himself down in his chair, tail flicking this way and that. The nature of his interview seemed to have gone well enough, although there was always the chance he'd lose this shot. God, he hoped not.

Losing the opportunity would mean that he'd still have to fight with his instincts and continue to fear the predators of the Underground would finally manage to take Isabel's life. There were other jobs, yes, but no others that would bump the two of them up to the surface. They suspected him for where he lived, and his unmedicated status – yes, he knew that. But he also knew from a glance at what was on file that they knew well his desperation to keep himself safe to be around – namely the shock collar he'd worn for those nearly ten years. They'd know, but there was always a chance it'd counter his favor. He couldn't afford that. He just couldn't afford that.

“Ya sure yer alright, big bro?”

Levi looked up from his slump, taking note of Isabel's uncomfortable expression. She didn't know yet; after all, it was better to know for sure before getting her hopes up of moving out of the filthy place.

“I will be.”

Isabel heaved a sigh, sitting down on the couch beside him. “Is it anything I –“

“No,” Levi sighed. “It'll just take some time is all.”

The hours ticked by, days passed by all the same. The red ferret would wait for him to come pick her up from school, careful of predators as they walked back, just as they always had. Careful eyes and alert ears made their way back, and for a while things seemed alright. To Isabel, at least.

Every moment it seemed, however, that Levi was getting worse. He seemed more desperate day by day, to the point that it wore off on even an optimist like Isabel, uncertain of how she could possibly soothe him. They were both waiting, really, for a sign.

The letter came to him hand-delivered by a bristly grizzly bear in a uniform, pistol by his leg. Dropping it in the panther’s hand, she waited long enough for the panther to open it and read the text. Grinning, the bear gave him a rough scratch along the back and a pat on the head.

“Well, you made it, sir. The department is currently readying an apartment for you, and we'll get on your medications pronto.” Upon seeing the panther’s shocked expression, she officer chuckled. “Take as much time as you need, dear, but your service starts in two weeks.”

Levi managed to snap out of it for a moment, reaching out to shake the bear’s paw. “Thank you, officer.”

“Take care,” the bear responded, shutting the door behind herself.

“Who was that, big brother?”

Levi caught the sound of the ferret’s voice, although he was hardly registering anything at this point. Mouth agape and eyes wider than ever, he stared down at the paper, unsure if he could believe it. To believe that he, an unmedicated predator straight from the Underground, had actually managed to score the placement.

“Levi?”

The panther’s tail twitched, folding the letter carefully and placing it in the pocket of his vest. He could hardly speak, let alone turn to her, although he finally found the words.

“We're moving out of the Underground.”

Isabel blinked, astounded, and barely believing his words. “’M sorry, could ya repeat that? I think I misheard ya.”

“No you heard me damn right,” Levi responded, turning towards her ecstatically. “We're finally getting out of this hellhole.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaand I'm pretty sure that's about the last bit of story setup I have? There should be some more actual plot within the next chapter or so. It's about time, in any case.
> 
> To be honest, the reason I put Levi as an officer was mostly for irony's sake (as going off of canon he was initially a thug), although it also has a purpose as well later on in the story.


	8. Prowlers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For clarification, the name of the night club is Prowlers.

“Where ya off to this time?”

Levi watched the ferret from the corner of his eye, straightening his police vest and trying not to catch her attention more.

“And why do you need to know?”

Isabel looked at him with a bothered expression. “Ya can't just tell me?”

“If you must know,” Levi sighed, flipping his pistol in his hand for a moment before placing it on his belt, “it's a shady night club called Prowlers. Lots of violent folks, drunk animals, predators intentionally going unmedicated for the sake of a thrill. It's an ideal crime spot - particularly popular for predation and other related felonies – so I've been assigned there for the time being to… Loosen up tension, so to speak.”

To his dismay, Isabel's eyes sparked with acute interest. “A night club? Aw, cool! Yer gonna let me come along, right?”

“Hell. No.” The words left his lips in a short growl, taking great pains to make sure the words stuck. “Isabel, be reasonable – would it make _any_ sense for me to bring you over to that wretched place. We're trying to _limit_ the number of predators who try to eat you, remember?”

“They don't have to know I'm immune,” Isabel grumbled quietly. “I've got the serum on me now – if any bastard gives me trouble, I can easily just pour some in and play it off like I'm just as naturally digestible as anybody else in this sick world.”

“It's not just your immunity I'm worried about slipping… There are plenty of other things that could happen,” Levi countered. “You're not ready for them. Hell, I don't even want to go to that shitty place, but I have to.”

“We've lived in the Underground fer how long before now? About fifteen years, ain't it?”

“Don't even mention that place. Besides,” Levi snarled, “clearly you haven't lived there long enough to know that dangers like that aren't ones to be desired.”

“My point is I can take it,” Isabel insisted, an almost desperate note on the edge of her tone. “It'll be alright, I promise.”

“Not happening.”

“But Lev-“

“Nope.”

Isabel was silent for a moment, recollecting herself. After a moment’s pause, she stood up, walking towards him.

“Fine, then. I'll go there myself.”

Levi raised a brow incredulously. “You wouldn't.”

“Yeah, I would.” The defiance in her stare was substantial, raising an eyebrow right back at him with a smirk upon her lips. “While I'd like to have ya with me, I technically don't need you to be there. I'm nineteen. I have an valid ID, because I'm an adult now. They'll let me in – I can tell ya that.”

Her smile became more triumphant upon seeing her older brother’s expression, clearly uncertain of how the hell to respond.

“Of course,” Isabel continued, assuring to keep her gaze as falsely helpless and innocent as possible, “if that happened, there's always a chance that I'll run into a violent predator on the way, and then y'all never hear a word about it until –“

“You always have to go that route, don't you?” It wasn't the first time Isabel had used this tactic to get him to comply to her demands, heavens no – the problem with it was that the truth of the matter was so likely at times that he allowed himself to be lured into that trap time and time again.

Isabel beamed. “C’mon, I promise I'll stay out of trouble…”

“Fine,” Levi grumbled, defeated. “But understand you're on your own tonight. If you really need me then come find me, but otherwise make sure you're alert and able to scratch if need be.”

“Of course! I made sure to sharpen ‘em yesterday, so they should be plenty deadly if I need to strike a blow.” She unsheathed them to show him, baring her teeth into a wild grin for effect. “And if that don't work I can always bite them bastards.”

Levi sighed. “… Please _try_ not to kill anyone – this isn't the Underground. You could get into serious trouble if you murder someone. If you get into a situation, strike to injure, got it?”

“Yeah, I gotcha,” Isabel replied, sounding somewhat disappointed. “I'll keep that in mind, brother.”

“You'll have to be ready in the next hour, though - I'm supposed to be over there by 8:30.”

“Works for me,” the ferret chirped, turning towards her room. “And don't worry - I'll be juuust fine.” The door closed behind her softly, leaving the panther temporarily alone.

“That better be a promise, Isabel.”

\---

“You do realize this is a sleazy night club and not a gala, right?”

Even despite the comment, it was apparent the panther was impressed. About half an hour later, Isabel came out in a deep violet, sleeveless dress, fitted relatively close to her form. The garment furled out the slightest bit, and from her waist a thin tulle layer descended to her knees. She'd even somehow managed to tame her unkempt fur, brushing it back so the only places it stuck up were intentional. A small veil pushed off to her right completed the look, adorned with violet, pale blue and magenta feathers.

Isabel merely shrugged. “I dunno – this is probably the only time I'm gonna reasonably get a chance to go there, so I figured I'd make an impression. Maybe get to meet some people and all that.”

“Well, you'll most definitely make an impression,” Levi murmured, bending down to straighten the hem of her dress. “I didn't know you even _had_ anything this feminine…”

Isabel reserved her comments, allowing her older brother to adjust her attire with an agreeable swish of the tail.

“Either way, we'd best get going. I'm taking it you're absolutely positive you'll be alright on your own?”

“I'll be fine.” Isabel replied, her ears flattening a bit in irritation. “And if they give me trouble, they won't know what hit ‘em ‘till I'm long outta their line of sight.”

“Just be prepared…”

“Oh man, you've got to tell us that one again!”

A deer chuckled helplessly, slamming his mug down on the table. A couple drops of his ale splattered against his blue polo, and across to the disgruntled coyote next to him.

“So a stoat approaches on the corner of the street, right?” The wolf to the left of the deer cleared his throat, taking another swig of his drink. “They were crossing the street with a duck carcass on their back, and when they get to the other side I stopped them. So I kneel down to get to their level, look them in the eye, and I say ‘sorry, fella, I've got to report you to the authorities.’ Now, this little bastard looks like they're going to rip my throat out, gives me such a look and I'm honestly debating whether to pull back. ‘What's your problem with me, ay?’ And I just keep their gaze, and murmur ‘fowl play.’”

Upon the deer’s second outburst, the wolf gave his own chuckle, sloshing some of the beer out of his mug and onto the table. The coyote gritted his teeth, looking the other direction uncomfortably.

“Oh man, oh man, you're a riot!” The ungulate wiped a tear from his eye, his face noticeably flushed even beneath his darker gray coat. “What did he say after that?”

“Nothing. He just growled and walked off, that's all. I mean, I had no reason to tail him – if it'd been illegal meat, someone would already be on his trail. I might be a wolf, but I've still got my dignity.”

“Why do you bother with lesser predators anyways? They're so… In between. Fancy, carnivorous prey creatures if you ask me.”

“Now now, don't scoff at the lessers. You're the deer who decided to have a drink with a wolf – if there's anything that'd be strange with our ancestors, that's much more of a concern.”

The deer set down his drink, shooting the lupine a daring look. “And what – are you saying you'd…”

The wolf rolled his eyes, extending his claws with a playful grin. “Well, I mean, sometimes I get a little hungry and…”

“But you wouldn't dare do such a thing in a place like…”

“No, not Prowlers – even in this god-forsaken place I'd rather avoid getting stuck in prison.”

The two exchanged glances for a moment, and the wolf could sense a little bit of fear stemming from the deer’s scent. He put his mug down, walking forward, teeth bared. The deer’s eyes widened, preparing for some sort of attack; however, it never came. The wolf picked up his head, gently clunking it against the bar table with wolfish laughter.

“Has the ale quite gotten to your head, Sayram? Have some common sense.”

“Alright, alright, you got me,” Sayram replied between breaths, hoof-like hands fishing for his drink. “Jesus, Church - you've got quite an air around you.”

The wolf grinned, slapping a hand to his chest. “Well, this time you're lucky, but it's not all for show - I've got some bite to my bark.”

“No no, man, I get that,” Sayram replied, holding up a hand to finish his thought. “It's just the way you saunter your way up like you rule the fucking world…”

“Well, people say I have a way with prey,” the wolf responded, his tail wagging fiercely behind him. “I don't know what it is, but they flock to me pretty rapidly.”

Sayram blinked. “Now, I don't mean like –“

“You should see the look on your face right now! I gotcha again, didn't I?”

The coyote seemed to finally have had enough, grasping the table as he stood. “So they really did hire that bastard for the job, did they?”

Both wolf and deer looked over at him with confused expressions, and the canid beckoned them both over to the railing. Once they made their way over, they quickly found the one the coyote had been talking about: a panther strode in, fully adorned with the standard police uniform, his air serious and deadly. At his side, coming up to about his waist, was a small figure of indeterminate species from their viewpoint, bouncing around as if fascinated by the place.

Sayram gave a disgusted look. “Who let _him_ monitor the area? What a punk!” The deer turned towards coyote, who also had his ears reared back hostilely upon the sight. “What do you say we give that thug a piece of our mind, Flagon?”

“It's best to avoid contact with him if you can – there have been reports saying he's lethal if engaged in hostile activity. That's precisely how he managed to get so known in the department...”

“But he’s such a –!”

“I know, but it isn't worth the risk,” Flagon growled, stepping back from the railing. “Best to be careful this time, and hope this is a temporary arrangement.”

Sayram’s mouth hung open, turning to the wolf. “Farlan, surely you're not made up the same way?”

It was clear by a single look at the wolf that his mind was elsewhere, and it didn't take long to realize his gaze was equally unfocused on the panther.

“Come on, man!”

Farlan blinked, finally turning towards the stag. “No, I'm afraid to say I'm with Flagon on this – that cat looks like he means business. He's oddly familiar, really, and not in a good way… But the other one, the ones beside him… She looks a little overdressed, don't you think?” Farlan stood up straight, brushing himself off, a nervous grin on his face. “I'll be back – I just want to make sure the sweet little thing didn't turn a wrong corner - I'd hate for something to happen to her if she's not prepared for it.”

“Alright, well, be careful – strike it wrong with the feline and you're in trouble.”

“I'll be fine,” Farlan replied, forcing a grin. “Besides, this is me we're talking about, right? I don't really think there'll be much of a problem.”

Without another word, he strode away down the steps, their golden lighting reflecting almost angelically against his pale silver fur.

“Alright, you're on your own now,” Levi stated, letting go of the ferret’s hand. “Just remember, if anyone gives you trouble –“

“I claw their eye out and shred their ears. If they can't see or hear me right, they've only got scent to go off of to follow me. I know, Levi, I know.”

Levi grimaced. “That's what you'd do in the Underground. This is the upper city – a deep slash to the arm or a scratch mark will suffice.”

“So I have to hold back?”

Levi’s gaze became incredulous. “Just – just stay out of trouble, will you? And make sure you have the serum on you at all times. You have it in your pocket, right?”

“Yeah yeah, of course. Only a dumbass wouldn't carry one on them.”

“Then I'm taking it you'll be alright?”

Isabel heaved a sigh, leaping up to wrap her arms around his neck, bringing him into a hug before pulling away slowly.

“Go out there and kick some ass. I'll be fine.”

Levi blinked in surprise for a moment, then nodded, turning away gradually. He began to walk away, turning back to look over her one last time, before leaving the ferret on her own. Isabel copied, before turning to go in a different direction, nose twitching and ears perked for the sound of voices and the beat of the music.

Now that she was on her own, Isabel found it easier to take in the general atmosphere of the night club. For a place so supposedly crime-ridden, it looked like a surprisingly well-kept establishment. The color of the walls was indeterminate, but everything was lit with an acutely purple light. It seemed to have two floors, with a flight of winding stairs with a golden railing around them leading to the second. On top of this was a small bar area, which seemed to be the only decently-lit thing in the vicinity, glowing with a yellow vibrancy that made it easy enough to see from. Looking further there, she could tell that the rails around the area were walled with glass, and some form of arcade or casino – she couldn't tell which – filled up the remaining space.

Ahead of her, Isabel could see a small dance floor, completed with multicolored, flashing tiles, strobe lights and a disco ball. This caught her attention rather quickly, immediately scampering over to it with restored energy and a curious chirp.

“Isabel?”

Jumping, Isabel turned at the sound of her name, although immediately relaxed as she recognized the owner of the familiar voice.

“Armin? Whatcha doin’ here?” She walked towards him, tail twitching inquisitively. “This ain't really a place for minors, y’know.”

Armin shrugged. “There are others my age here – they don't check IDs as well as they should, from what I've seen.”

Isabel gave him an incredulous look. “And here I thought ya were a rule follower. Guess I was wrong, huh?”

“I usually do, don't get me wrong here,” Armin replied, looking somewhat guilty. “Farlan said it wouldn't be much of a problem if I came here, and I trust his judgement. And if anything happens, I've got Mikasa here with me.”

The feline nodded to the small canid beside him, who only gave a small nod, saying nothing. From behind the wolf’s neck, the ferret could see a small mouse peak out from behind the folds of her red scarf. Armin looked over as well, before returning is gaze to Isabel.

“And of course, Eren’s here as well.”

The mouse sniffed area, raising a brow upon seeing Isabel. Noticing she had him in her gaze, he immediately backed up a few paces.

“Woah! So the big cat finally let you hit this joint, huh?” There was a small bit of snideness in his tone characteristic to Eren, although his body language and expression indicated interest more than anything else.

“What does it matter to ya, anyways?” Isabel asked, suspicious.

“I'm just surprised you managed to convince him is all – Levi seems like he's pretty hard to budge.” Eren straightened out his whiskers, looking the ferret up and down before giving her a much more approachable grin. “Are you… Expecting someone?”

“Wha – nah, just testin’ out the waters. I'm hoping at some point I can snag a date, but I'm willin’ to wait for the right time to strike.”

“Anyone who can tolerate you for longer than an hour deserves some kind of reward or something,” Eren yawned. “Well, good luck, I suppose. Stay away from sleazy predators if you can help it.”

Isabel rolled her eyes, although became a little more serious after that. “Ya guys headed somewhere?”

Several different animals bustled about the tiny group, making it difficult to converse much more. A loudspeaker sounded further up to the left of them, and the trio turned towards it.

“We're trying to catch a show, actually,” Armin mewed. “That seems like it's the one.”

“Ya sure that's appropriate for –“

“It's just comedy,” Eren shrugged. “Shouldn't be anything too bad.”

“Are you planning on going, Isabel?” The ferret froze for a moment, realizing the voice was Mikasa’s. She quickly snapped back to her senses, however, shaking her head.

“Nah – you guys can go ahead. I'll see if I can meet up with y'all later!”

“Alright, we'll see if we spot you after it’s done!” Armin waved to her, leaving with the rest of his group.

And once again, the ferret was alone. The critters in the area seemed to be making their way over to various different areas – the bar, the games up top, the shows, and even a few lining up on the dance floor. The music was just as loud as ever, and made it awfully hard for her to stand still – then again, when was a ferret ever stagnant? Even still, by now it seemed everyone had a place in mind, and Isabel figured it was best for her to do the same. It just took some plotting to figure out which place would be the best to start off with – she had all night (or at the very least, as much of the night as Levi was stationed for), so she knew she didn't necessarily have to pick and choose. The dance floor seemed pretty alluring still, yet now she was starting to grow awfully hungry…

“If you don't mind me asking, what's a gorgeous lady like yourself doing in such a run-down establishment like Prowlers?”

Isabel’s ears caught the sound, momentarily freezing as she realized she didn't recognize the voice at all. It took her a second before she even realized it was directed at her, although when she did she whipped around, immediately unsheathing her claws defensively.

“Did you miss your stop or something, darling?”

It was obvious now she definitely did not know the being before her. He was a tall wolf who seemed to be maybe a foot or two shorter than Levi, although he towered over her quite a bit. His silver fur was clean but awfully bristly, as if he was either perpetually nervous or agitated – or both, for that matter. The fur on his head swept forward as a small tuft, and his cheek fur flipped upwards some, almost like a cat’s. He wore a white shirt pulled together with a black ribbon, and brown pants, and pinned her down with pointed, although seemingly gentle eyes.

It didn't matter how nice he seemed, though – at this point, Isabel knew well enough how predators tried to woo potential prey, and she wasn't going to have it. She locked him in her own icy blue gaze, reaching for the dagger she concealed underneath the folds of her dress.

“And what does it matter, exactly?”

Upon seeing her reaction, the wolf immediately backed up, holding both hands up in front of him defensively with ears folded and tail tucked.

“Hey there, easy – I didn't mean it like that!” The wolf forced nervous laughter, winding a paw behind the back of his neck. “I thought you might actually be lost, promise.” His voice softened upon his last few words, focusing his gaze elsewhere. “So I'm taking it you actually meant to come here, then?”

Isabel raised a brow – he seemed legitimate, but that wasn't going to be enough to drop her guard.

“Yeah, I did, actually. But that ain't much of your business, is it?”

The wolf balked. “N-No - I've just seen a lot of things happen to prey and lesser preds, so I wanted to make sure before someone – you know – took advantage of you or something. Lots of shady predators around here – you can never be too careful.”

Isabel smirked, reveling in the power she felt over the alpha predator. “And what – are ya the exception?”

“Well, I mean…” The wolf stepped back a few paces, his stance still submissive. “I don't engage unwilling critters, if that's what you're asking. A lot of others here, however –“ He looked down a moment, noticing the weapon on the ferret’s person. “- Is that a knife? Holy shit!”

“It's just like ya said - ya can never be too careful, right?” Isabel shot him another grin.

The wolf chuckled. “Yeah, I guess you really did mean to come here, then.” A bashful, nervous grin broke through after a moment, dropping his defensive posture. “You know how to use that thing?”

“Sure do! An’ if it comes to it, I can always fight the way our ancestors did.” Isabel clicked her claws, baring her teeth to display their razor-sharp edges. “I can do animal combat, too, an’ I have pretty much since I was fifteen. I'm pretty good at it.”

“So you say,” the wolf replied. “Oh! My apologies, I should've probably started off this way.” He extended his right hand to her, giving a warm smile. “Farlan Church.”

Isabel hesitated a moment, before sheathing her claws and dagger with a nod. “Y’know, ya seem alright.” She had to stretch a little to reach his paw, though managed to reach it with hers. “Isabel Magnolia,” she chirped in response, giving a smile charming enough to hold the wolf captive.

“P-Pleasure to meet you,” Farlan stuttered, hoping she couldn't see the blush lurking beneath his gray fur. He tugged at the ribbon around his neck, clearing his throat. “So, er… Do you… Can I get you anything? Like, a drink or something?”

“Hmm?”

Farlan hesitated a moment, although relaxed a bit once he noticed she seemed to have dropped her hostile attitude.

“Or, you know, there's a pretty good grill just around the bend, if you're more interested in that…”

At the mention of food, Isabel drilled a little bit, her stomach answering for her before she could get the words out. Farlan raised a brow, more amused than anything else.

“I'm taking that as a yes?”

Isabel beamed, gripping the sleeve of his shirt. “Only if yer paying!”

Farlan softened a little upon her attitude.

“I was planning on it,” he replied, pointing to the restaurant. “It's over there, but sometimes seating gets a bit tricky. We've got to get over there pretty quick if we want to get a table in good time.”

“I gotcha,” Isabel chirped, darting forward. “Come on, then!”

On the other side of the club, the police force was hard at work, checking the rosters for suspected criminals in the vicinity. Thus far, they'd already managed to arrest one of them, and begun tailing another to see if they could catch them in the act. For the club’s reputation, it was surprisingly tame – many of the older officers attributed this to the new blood in the area, while others thought it was just coincidence.

“Who the hell is this shady bastard?” Levi caught sight of one of the profiles on his tablet, clicking on the photo. He extended it to one of the other officers incredulously.

“Oh, that's just Farlan,” the Maine Coon shrugged, adjusting the pistol strapped to her leg. “Not really much of a problem most of the time – we tend to leave him alone.”

Levi didn't seem to hear, scrolling down through the his record. “Do you _see_ these charges? You're letting a gang leader run rampant nowadays?”

“The whole ‘gang leader’ thing turned out to be a hoax” shrugged a blond rabbit to his right. “Some critters just wanted to get him in trouble was all it was. It's a common mistake – a lot of people try to land him for his public records, poor guy.”

The panther raised a brow. “His public records are different than - ?”

The rabbit nodded. “Nobody on the force is quite sure why, but that's how it is.” She pulled out her own device, checking the roster. “Have you seen Reiner Braun anywhere? Both his public and private records seem a bit shady. We should check that out.”

“Not yet,” Levi replied, pulling up his file. “I definitely see what you mean, though – and looks like he's got some sort of gang around him.”

“There's already a few people looking for him on the other side of the vicinity. I'll be joining them once my partner shows up – she wanted to search with me.”

“Sorry I'm late, Historia.”

The rabbit looked up, faced with a dhole in casual clothing, her expression irritated. “Had to best a couple punks on the way over – those tomcats wouldn’t give me a minute’s breath. You would not believe the nerve of straight guys.”

The rabbit placed her device back in her pocket, giving a soft smile. “Don't worry about it too much, Ymir – long as we track them down by the end of the night, everything should be fine.” She gripped her hand tightly, allowing Ymir to take the lead to the other side of the club.

As they left, Levi scanned the area, unable to see much ahead of him.

_I can't see her anywhere – I hope Isabel’s managed to stay out of trouble…_

“So ya really are close to Armin, huh? When he mentioned ya, I figured he was talking about a friend, not a father.”

Isabel looked over at Farlan from the other side of the table, taking substantial bites of pork as she listened for his response.

“Well… Not exactly. I’m his legal guardian, but I can't say I'm quite old enough to really be a father – more like a mentor, maybe an older brother or something.” Farlan shrugged. “Of course, he thinks of me as though I was a parent, and that's fine, but you catch my drift, right?” Farlan raised a brow. “Remind me how you know him?”

“We're friends from grade school,” Isabel replied nonchalantly. “He's honestly the only one who could stand me.”

“Yeah, he's definitely used to fiery characters – have you seen some of the stunts his boyfriend pulls?”

“Ah, so they're still together, ay?” Isabel sipped a little from her glass. “Woulda thought they'd drive each other crazy by now.”

“They've known each other for some time, so it doesn't surprise me they get by. What about you?” The wolf’s expression became intensely interested, propping an elbow up on the table. “You got anybody waiting on you?”

“Me? Nah – not yet, anyways. Ya see, my brother’s pretty protective over me – not that I blame ‘em for that – so most people stay back.” Isabel finished off the cutlet, licking her fingers to savor the remaining flavor. She noticed Farlan’s expression change, giving him a curious glance.

“Then would I be out of line to ask you if you'd like to be my date for the night?” He tensed once more, returning to his submissive nature. “Either way is fine – I-I realize we've just met so I won't take it personally no matter –“

“Yer a bad dog, y’know that?” The way she phrased the question was more playful than pointed, although even still it seemed to make Farlan nervous. Before he could speak once again, she shoved her plate out of the way, locking him in her alluring gaze. She reached forward for the ribbon around his neck, pulling him closer.

“Yer just lucky I'm no better.”

Farlan breathed a sigh of relief, placing a hand to his chest. He allowed her to keep him there a moment, before pulling back.

“And here I was certain I'd put you off,” he breathed. “I'm glad to hear that isn't the case.”

“I mean,” Isabel shrugged, “I thought my answer was pretty obvious.”

“Perhaps so,” Farlan admitted, “although it's usually not polite to assume. Just in general.”

“You're pretty under confident for an alpha predator,” Isabel remarked. “Usually I thought ya guys figured ya ruled the world.”

“It's just my temperament,” Farlan scoffed. “Besides, all that alpha hierarchy crap is posturing. They want you to think they're more on top of things than they really are.”

Isabel took notice of his hand on the table, slipping hers over it. Upon doing so, Farlan's ears flattened in embarrassment, avoiding her gaze for a moment.

“And I'm taking it yer the exception to that, at least?”

Farlan blinked. “Me? Wha – no.” Farlan brushed the other hand past his cheek. “I know how to do it, and I can pull off the act well enough – I was a theater major in college, so I could technically do more than just that – but it really depends on who I'm around. Sometimes the act suits the situation, while other times it just… Doesn't. This is one of the times I'd rather just be honest, drop all that nonesense.”

The wolf forced his lips into a grin, then allowed it to fall. “Damn, I must sound like such a sap…”

“Psst - I like it.” Her gaze softened, only making Farlan more and more enticed by her presence. “Makes ya seem an awful lot more genuine.”

“I'm glad to hear that,” Farlan finally managed. “And I'm glad I met you.”

“You too, ya big ‘ol dork,” Isabel teased, tail swishing behind her with excitement. “Hopefully I'll see ya around some time.”

“The night’s not over just yet,” Farlan laughed. “We still got some time until then.” He checked the time on his phone. “Several hours, actually.”

“Huh. Well, that ain't too bad.”

“Yeah, we can still do some more things after this,” Farlan barked, sliding his phone back into his pocket. “So, uh, where were you thinking of heading next? Since its your first time here, I'll let you pick.”

“Ya come around here often?”

Farlan nodded. “More often than I'd like to admit.”

“Well… Can ya dance?”

“I can try,” Farlan replied. “Is that your top pick?”

“It's where I was headed before ya stopped me,” Isabel admitted, a little bit of snark hidden in the remark. “So ya up to it?”

“Sure, why not? I can give it my best shot. I can't guarantee I'll be any good, though, especially after a couple drinks.”

Isabel quirked an eyebrow at him. “I didn't even notice. Yer not slammed yet, are ya?”

Farlan shook his head. “My tolerance is pretty high – takes more than that to knock me off my feet.” He grinned, allowing the ferret to see every one of his teeth. Isabel gulped expectantly, although said no more, realizing that assuming anything of that nature was foolish with the canid; if for no other reason, she highly doubted he had the guts. “Just let me handle the check and we can head over.”

“Sounds good to me,” Isabel replied, shooting him a grin.

There was something strangely comforting about this wolf: she wasn't entirely sure what it was about him, but in spite of his apparent insecurities and generally off-kilter demeanor, he seemed like someone she could trust. Sure, she'd been on the defensive around him at first, but that was her natural go-to, and not a good way of determining how he really was. She didn't quite his height until he stood up once he'd gotten the check, and didn't entirely feel his strength up until he reached for her hand, and she took it. While he was still notably shorter than her older brother, Farlan definitely had strength enough to rival even Levi's. No, it was clear she didn't want to wind up on his bad side – although it was apparent by the look in his eyes that she'd have to try and do that in order to flip the tables to terribly. That look… It was either dazed or lovestruck, and she couldn't entirely tell which. Either way, it was enough to allow her more than just a little comfort, relaxing herself more and more the longer she was with him, not even protesting when he withdrew his hand from here and placed it over her shoulders.

Off in the distance, she could hear the voices of others in the club, and the various neon lights swirling in a kaleidoscope of colors. The young ferret found herself looking down, watching them reflect off of the floor, catching in Farlan's silvery fur every once in a while. The brilliance only seemed to increase as they reached the dance flor, and Farlan turned around expectantly. Without a moment’s hesitation, she took ahold of his hand and they walked onto the multicolored tiles together.

As it turned out, Farlan was not, in fact, a poor dancer like he'd indicated; he seemed to know what he was doing more than even she did. His steps were relatively well-paced, and there was just something right about the way he held her. Every look from those enchanting golden eyes made Isabel twitch a little in excitement, more and more lured in by their steady, compassionate gaze as the night went on. Occasionally he'd out-step her, then go back to allow her to catch up, seemingly just as caught up in her as she was in him.

When his eyes finally met hers, she didn't even flinch, and when he leaned forward to meet her, she didn't hold back. At the first opportunity given, she threw an arm around the back of his neck, grabbed the collar of his shirt and pulled him into a kiss. Farlan faltered for a moment, clearly surprised, although soon eased up enough himself to return it. It took a little bit of stretching to reach him, but managed to hold it long enough. After a minute or two, she let go, allowing him some space.

“So how was that?”

Farlan blinked, clearly uncertain of how to react at first. He attempted – poorly – to retain composure, although soon dropped the act and grinned. The ferret could even see his tail wagging, allowing him to lean down to face her.

“You’re… Actually pretty good,” Farlan finally managed, giving her a devious look. “Never would've thought so before, though.”

“There's a lot ya don't know about me,” Isabel replied, her tail sweeping from side to side.

“So I see. Well, it'll be an adventure finding those things out.”

The dance lasted for about an hour longer, until the lights finally faded out and the other animals made their way to the other venues. By that time, things had started to calm down; Prowlers was getting sparser and sparser in population, and it wasn't much longer until only gamblers, workers and the occasional people at the bar were left. It seemed that the police force, too, was starting to depart – in the distance, Isabel could see them beginning to move away from the club and towards the exits.

“I gotta go pretty soon,” Isabel sighed. “I wish I could stay longer, but I don't wanna keep Levi waiting, an’ he's bound to be here any minute.”

“We can always meet up again if you'd like,” Farlan suggested. “That is, if you don't have a problem with swapping numbers.”

“Nah, that's alright – give me just a sec.”

She pulled out her phone, showing the number to the canid. With surprising confidence, he typed in the number, then copied so she could do the same.

As if on cue, the sleek form of the panther crept forward. His footsteps were noiseless, so the only way Isabel was truly able to tell was from his familiar scent and general aura. By the time he approached, she had already split with Farlan, watching him return back into the sea of animals. She watched him clamber back up the steps to the second floor, and out of her line of sight. Once she could no longer see him, she turned to see the relieved face of her older brother.

It was nice to see she'd stayed out of trouble, and that just from a single look the ferret was unscathed. Levi looked over her a couple times, not saying a word nor giving any indication of dissatisfaction at his findings. So nobody had hurt her, and he could smell no blood on her knife, meaning she'd either not needed to use it or she'd washed it extremely well – the former was incredibly more likely. There was a foreign scent on her pelt that he could tell from just a whiff, but it didn't bother him too much; she wasn't hurt, and that was what mattered.

Without protest, Isabel allowed him to scoop her up, calmly carrying her back to their apartment. Things might come up later for all he knew, but for now, things were alright.

And he'd do what he could to keep them that way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I have not actually been to a night club before, so this is all speculation on my part.


	9. Plans For Decimation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some people want too much information from others.
> 
> And some are willing to go to radical lengths to get them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's where the plot actually picks up a bit. Figured the Titan Trio would be a good group to do the job, so that's why they're thugs on the surface.

The streets were mostly quiet, aside from the occasional howling of wolves on the street or gangs lurking along alleyways. The smell of rot and decay was particularly strong in these parts of town, to the point where a normal creature would turn away without a second thought. There were still some, of course, who were the exception, making these places their bases and hideouts – hidden away where few would find them. And of course, most knew better than to mess with those figures.

A pale lioness searched through the remains of some crates in one of these alleys, examining the contents with interest as she determined what she could still use. Her comrades weren't too far away, so she knew it was relatively safe to go it alone. In either case, she knew how to fight her way through things if they got hairy.

But she was not, in fact, alone in the alleyway, and a looming shadow of a dog blocked out whatever city lights shone through. She noticed the change immediately, looking over to the sight of the towering figure with her knife raised. While she said nothing, a single look into her icy blue eyes would've been enough to make anyone think twice about approaching her.

A large golden retriever stood in the entrance, towering over her about two feet – too large to be anything but an aberration for his kind, and in spite of his domestic roots it didn't take much to tell he was of the alpha class. He approached calmly, taking no real notice to the lioness’s hostility or knife, expression almost emotionless.

“Where are your comrades? Surely, you didn't think it was a smart idea to go it alone, did you?” A sick smile twisted on his lips. “I would've expected more from you, Annie.”

The lioness narrowed her eyes, shoots him a glare. When she didn't make another move, however, he took another step forward, leaning on the grimy walls of the passage.

“I do hope you've considered my offer? It would be good for your entire group, you know – and aren't you tired of prey pushing you around?”

“Prey are the only ones who shut up and leave me be,” Annie growled after a moment’s silence. “At least _they_ understand that I mean business. Long as they do, I don't have a problem with them.” She avoided eye contact, looking down at her paws and unsheathing her claws to feel the power in their blades. “In any case, your offer isn't in favor of us, and I know that. Get lost – unless you want me to dismember that arm of yours.”

The dog didn't even flinch, regaining composure to the point his face seemed as though it was made of stone. “Not even if I manage to find the lot of you positions in the main government?”

That seemed to spark a bit of her interest, though it hardly showed. The retriever went on, tone deadpan: “I would need some people to overthrow the current government for this to work. If it does, then you can retain your positions, permanently, if you wish, and have all the control over the city. And all you have to do is help me with the Surge. Gather up the vilest predators you can, and we can make this work.”

Annie shook her head. “As long as that new officer is around, you won't get far enough. He's a deadly threat, you know.”

“Ah, but you see I will make him bend to my will eventually. If I can win him over, he's a vital part of this plan – strong, fierce, and a long-time former resident of the Underground. He's perfect for the role. I just need to get ahold of some records –“

“His name is Levi, if that's the first bit of information you need,” the lioness interjected. “He's got a ferret following him around, too – I don't precisely know her skill level, but I've seen her around.” She raised a brow. “Now, if you need bait, I could easily assemble my group and take her on – lesser predators haven't been much of a problem for me. But are you sure Levi's the one you're really after? He's pretty dedicated to his position.”

The retriever grinned. “I have my ways. Now, do we have a deal or not?”


	10. We Need To Talk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Levi discovers Isabel's contact with Farlan, he decides it's better to have a talk with the canid before anything goes awry.
> 
> Of course, he's not the most subtle in assuring this.

“Remind me again what he said his name was?”

Apparently, writing off whatever events had happened at Prowlers was a mistake. The strange scent was something for the time being he could live with, but probably should've asked about. He'd asked several times before, yet couldn't quite wrap his head around the entirety of the situation.

Isabel looked at the panther with a half-confused, half-irritated look. It didn't take much even if one hadn't been close to Levi that the feline was getting himself into a fit about the whole situation, from his exasperated look to lashing tail, and his continuous pacing like he was in a cage. Normally, it would've worried her to no end, but this was just ridiculous. 

“Again? Big Brother, c’mon, this is the seventh time ya’ve asked me. An’ the wolf told me his name was Farlan.”

The very name of the canid seemed to make the panther squirm, freezing up before returning to his nervous state. Why couldn't he just accept who she hit it off with? Why, of all things, was he getting worked up about a date?

“And you're positive he's a wolf?”

“’Bout as positive as I am yer gettin’ overprotective about this. What – can I _never_ get to court anyone? I know it wasn't safe in the Underground, but this is the city. There's a lot less shady folks than –“

“It's not about the fact you might've picked up a lover that concerns me, Isabel,” Levi cut her off, his tone still just as irritable as before. “It's this particular one that unsettles me.” His ears drooped, heaving a sigh. “No, normally I'd do my best to be supportive – I do think you ought to end up with somebody eventually – but this… Something about it seems like a trap. I've seen him before, and not just on file.”

Isabel tilted her head, leaning forward against the back of the sofa. “On file? Ya don't mean to tell me - ?”

“Apparently not – his records are apparently clean, but the information deeming this is private, apparently. In either case, while that's shady, there may well be an explanation for it, I suppose. If I could only figure out where…” He turned suddenly, seeming concerned more than agitated. “You're certain he didn't hurt you? Not a single mark left with a stray claw?”

“Nuh-uh. If he tried, I would've got ‘em, I know I woulda. Strange that ya think he could be a threat to me – he jumped back a few feet once he saw I was armed. Ya shoulda seen the look on his face –“ 

“He just seems oddly disconcerting and I wanted to make sure.” Levi finally managed to calm himself enough to circle back around and recline somewhat uneasily in his chair. “I don't want you to get yourself into more trouble than it's worth, and if there's one thing I can draw from him, it's trouble. I don't think I've seen anyone who looks like they've got more to hide than he does.”

“Then ya clearly don't know him.” Isabel regarded him incredulously, shooting him a glance before gazing down, regretting it. “Look, I know I just met ‘em but… Give him a chance. I dunno all that much yet, and I know that, but just ‘cause he's a bad dog doesn't mean he's out to get me. I want to get to know him, learn how to read ‘em, and if he tries anything –“ The ferret unsheathed her claws, clicking them together. “He can talk to these. But still…” She sheathed them, looking back at him with all sincerity, holding him in her gaze for a few moments without speaking.

Levi attempted to hold his ground against that look, although his efforts were futile. Even in spite of it all, he couldn't help but fall for the feigned innocence in her eyes – and hell, he wanted to think she was right about this whole ordeal.

“What is it you want me to do?” The defeat was heavy on his voice, but not so much it sounded unwilling.

“Just… Y'know, talk to ‘em. Get a feel for the kind of man he is. If he's a danger to you or I, then he ain't worth me time – but if ya think he's got potential, please let me know. I felt I could read ‘em well enough, and heck – if Armin trusts ‘em, that's probably a good sign, right?”

Levi looked her over in utter confusion. “You need to tell me that the kid is –“

Isabel shrugged. “Sounded about right from the both of ‘em. And I mean, if he's his guardian, then he can't possibly be that bad, right?”

“We'll see.” He got up from his spot, crossing to the other room. “I don't guarantee anything, but I'll do what I can, alright?”

\---

Getting Farlan on his own, it turned out, was much harder than it sounded. The wolf apparently made frequent appearances at the police department, but never alone – usually, he was with some startled prey at the front desk, and on occasion it seemed he'd stop and chat with the officers. It was strange how friendly the others were with him, really, as though they were old friends. Among these faces were Marco, the Labrador who'd interviewed him, a German Shepard, and one of the other officers on his usual shift, Historia – all respectable people from what he could tell, even in spite of their apparent connections to this shady wolf.

Not what he needed to be thinking right now – his priorities were to figure this wolf out, not immediately persecute him. After all, the canid was someone Isabel potentially sought out; he didn't want to take that chance away from her just yet. He'd just have to wait until the officers were finished chatting with him, and make a move accordingly…

He'd eventually managed to catch the wolf off guard and away from the others, asking him to meet him at one of the nearby restaurants. While he had his doubts about this peculiar fellow, it was better to be civil; after all, if he really was fit to be by Isabel’s side, he didn't want to direct him away from the vicinity altogether. With a bit of luck on his side, the wolf agreed, although how much of this was out of his own desires and how much was out of fear he wasn't sure. It was clear the wolf was cautious, in any case. Walking up to the place in question, he felt the slightest twinge of resentment as he spotted the canid, tapping his shoulder and causing the fellow to jump.

Upon the disinterested glare in Levi's eyes, Farlan gulped, tucking his tail behind his legs rather submissively. Levi wasn't someone that anyone really wanted to be caught alone with (not anyone who wasn't Isabel, anyways), although he figured that long as he carried himself well enough, he'd at least make a good impression.

“Ah, there you are! Levi, isn't it?”

Lips formed into a soft, sheepish smile, ears drawn back as though concerned. Even from the place the wolf sat, Levi could see that he'd supposedly intimidated the fellow, but the dancing spark of mischief buried deep within the lupine’s eyes was enough to clue him in that Farlan wasn't entirely affected. Hell, it might've _all_ been an act, but the faint scent of fear betrayed this notion. Best not to give him the upper hand either way.

“Mind if I sit here?”

“No, not at all! I figured you would.”

Farlan waited until the panther had seated himself, watching him with rapt attention all the while.

“Now, what was it you wanted to speak to me about? Did a couple more hapless witnesses report me for being a bad dog?” A slight smirk formed in the corners of Farlan's lips, an eyebrow raised as he took a sip of his drink.

The panther’s eyes narrowed. “While I certainly have some suspicions regarding the secrecy behind your records, that isn't what I've come to settle with you. Rather, your last engagement in Prowlers.”

Farlan scoffed. “Yeah, what about it? I go rather frequently, not that it's much of your business. The other cops leave me alone, so I don't get why you can't just lay off it as well.”

Levi felt his hackles raise, though managed to keep it under control for the most part.

“As far as I'm aware, none of the other cops have any concerns about their family members falling in your close and uninvited proximity.”

The wolf choked on his ale, regarding Levi somewhat nervously.

“And what, precisely, do you mean by that?”

“Do you or do not know a ferret by the name of Isabel Magnolia?”

The wolf gulped, small beads of sweat dampening the fur on his face. “… Yeah, I met her at Prowlers a couple nights back. What of it?”

“Since you're clearly unaware,” the panther responded, biting back the venom that wanted to burst from him at any moment, “that ferret… Is my sister.”

Farlan's attitude shifted immediately from condescending to fearful, not even daring to try and hide the apparent anxiety. To make it worse for him, Levi gave him a solid glare, making sure that he didn't get ideas. 

“O-Oh… Is that so? Then w... I-I didn't hurt her, I promise.”

“Oh no, I know that. You're off the hook as far as that, and if you'd like to know, she did speak favorably about you. I'm just here to make sure that nothing happens to her. And besides that…” The panther gritted his teeth, ears flattened in reluctance to what he was about to admit. “Anyone who could raise a kid like Armin deserves at least a chance.”

The wolf raised a brow, his demeanor hinting at curiosity. “Ah, so you are acquainted with him after all, then? Would've sworn I heard him mention your name once or twice.”

“He's like a part of the family,” Levi shrugged, tone indicating no specific emotion. “Only person I've known who's able to handle Isabel's tenacity.”

“Is that so? I don't see why that is…”

“You hardly know her,” Levi growled, defensive nature evident. “Of course you don't. In any case, though, you better have a good reason for why your records are so secretive. I'm not keen on letting a delinquent near my sister, so let's hear it.”

Farlan grumbled, rolling his eyes. “Didn't I already tell you to lay off it? If you're so keen on getting into my buisness then maybe you should go to the police office and get them t-“

“Listen to me _very_ clearly!” The wolf’s words were cut short as Levi shot forward, hunched over, arm outstretched, his claws secured into the tablecloth a few inches from the wolf. Farlan's ears flicked back in alarm, fur bristling with an apparent sense of fear. “If you think getting cocky with me will serve you well, think again. I asked you for information, so you'd best give it to me.” Realizing how he'd lunged out, he folded his ears back, slinking back over to his side of the table somewhat embarrassed at his outburst. “Unless, of course, you've got something to hide… But know that either way, I _will_ find out, make no mistakes there.”

Farlan shuddered, although regained composure within a moment as irritation took place of anxiety. “You want to know? Fine, you don't have to eviscerate me in the process.” A paw reached for his collar, adjusting the ribbon under the collar. “So I… Might have a tendency to visit the Underground rather frequently. I understand that you're from there, so I don't think I need to lay out the details of what happens to prey who stumble out too late out there, do I?” He avoided Levi's gaze, shaking his head in disbelief. “In any case, I make it a habit to try and rescue who I can. I don't like the idea of seeing the alphas boss them around and torture them, so that's why I… Pardon, do I actually know you from somewhere?”

The feeling had been there for some time, but it was only now that he was able to put it into perspective. As if Levi's scent hadn't cued him in to begin with, it seemed that he at least got the gist from the unamused snarl on the panther’s face.

“From the office?” The sarcastic tone in Levi's tone slipped from his lips before he could possibly suppress it. “Thought your memory was good enough to at least get the basics.”

“No, I mean before that…” Farlan raised a brow, trying to determine how true this statement was. It wasn't at Prowlers, since the feeling had been there before. But as though he'd seen him before in the Underground…

“Actually, I do think I've seen you before then,” Levi admitted. “But I'm not quite sure when.” He raised a brow, uncertain as to the location, but the wider the wolf’s eyes got, the clearer the image got in his mind. Yes, he had indeed seen this fellow before, and if what he said was true…

It didn't take much longer until he finally matched it: the sleek silver fur in the alleyway, the look of horror within those golden eyes as he pinned the wolf down with a single stare. He could feel it now in the way the wolf looked at him, as though he had finally figured it out as well. So he had reason to dislike this wolf, then, after all – it wasn't just protective instinct.

“And you say your entire intent is to rescue prey from the Underground?”

“Precisely,” Farlan grumbled. “That's all I do when I'm down there.”

“And you do this by… Swallowing them, do you not?”

“It's safer that way, for both them and for me. An unmedicated predator is much less likely to attack a prey who's already been caught,” Farlan replied, his ears flicking back with embarrassment. “I always keep the serum on me so it's not like they're in any danger. Besides, I won't act if –“

“I don't nee the whole story,” Levi murmured. “What I would like to know, however, is how many rabbits you've taken in, and what their fate was.”

“Oh, them?” Farlan looked at him reproachfully, then softened. “If I'm remembering the same family as you, there were five of them – the mother and the four kids. One of them got separated, so I offered to take them all to the surface and find their missing member before it was too late. Which I did but...” He blinked, finally realizing the exact situation. “And you were that panther…”

“So that's where it was,” Levi nodded, fully understanding the situation now. “And you said you brought them to the surface?”

“Indeed I did.” Farlan took another swig of his ale. “Brought them up, spat them out and sent them to the police office for rehoming. Laws state that anyone brought up from the Underground under threat from predators can live up here on the surface.”

“I'm well aware of that,” Levi replied stoically. “And if that's truly the case, then I commend you.” He brushed off his collar. “Well, I suppose that's all I need to know. Just one thing…”

Farlan put down his drink, tilting his head expectantly. “Do continue.”

“If you do so much as lay a finger on Isabel without her consent,” Levi began, striding forward with an aggressive air, “then I will promptly rip out your eyes and shove them down your throat.” He growled he last words, unsheathing his claws mere millimeters from Farlan's throat. Once the canid seemed intimidated enough, he withdrew them, settling back into his seat. Satisfied, he looked over his menu.

“Now, who's paying?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Didn't forget about this fic! And I definitely don't plan on stopping now - I'm just hitting the major plotpoints. There's just been a lot going on stress-wise, particularly in the past two weeks, so I'm trying to ease back into it slowly.
> 
> Admittedly, I kept getting stuck on this chapter and keeping its flow, but hopefully I did well enough.


	11. Conviction

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Annie's gang decide if they want to take up Erwin's offer once and for all.

The alleyways had never been harsher.

The aura of vengeance and heated protest filled the very nature of the walls, coating them with the venom and conviction of the members standing for the suggested.

“So you think it's a good idea to go for it?”

An aardvark piped up from beside the other two, elongated snout twitching. “I-I mean…”

“Erwin might be untrustworthy,” the lioness growled, seeming reluctant to voice the words, “although this isn't an opportunity we can pass up without at least considering. If we do his dirty work and he assigns us places in the government, we can easily carry out the rest of our work at ease. Between the three of us, he won't stand a chance.”

“ _If_ he assigns us places in the government, that is,” a blond badger spoke up, giving the big cat a questioning look. “As much as I want to believe you, the fact that he's offered that so soon seems awfully fishy to me, Annie.”

The lioness shook her head. “Not necessarily, Reiner. Remember, this isn't the first time he's approached us, so I'm not certain he has no standing to make such an offer at this point in time.”

The badger raised a brow, contemplating what Annie had voiced. “You seem awfully confident about this, don't you? But why does he want us? There are plenty of other gangs out there that'd give him much more support than we ever will.”

“Because we're warriors,” the aardvark responded. “He knows we're not from the city, and that we bear knowledge of the whereabouts outside of this place. We know what deeds these devils have done.”

“And you honestly think that's enough? Much as I can understand that, Bert, I doubt that's his only reason for hiring us.”

“I'll admit, it does seem to be the only thing setting us apart from the other gangs he's asked,” Annie murmured, tail swishing. “I wouldn't be surprised if that's his reason for gunning for our service.” She crossed to the other side of the alleyway, slumping against the wall. “Thing is, we can't return to our hometown until we've made a satisfactory amount of progress, and we're nowhere near that at the moment.”

“I can definitely see how this would give us a leg up, although I'm still unsure if this is the way to do it. It seems a little too easy – and I wouldn't be surprised if Erwin’s already suspicious of our intents. No doubt he's got a system set up to safeguard in case of that,” Reiner added, his tone indicating moderate annoyance.

“Yet he isn't aware of the power we possess,” Annie countered, taking the knife from her belt. “And as long as he remains clueless, we've still got a chance.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Know the Titan Trio chapters are short, sorry about that! They're mostly to just get the plot moving with quick little insights.
> 
> Warning in advance for some potential spoilers from pretty recent chapters of the manga - going to try and incorporate some of that stuff.


	12. Captured Nobility

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The tables have turned in the city. More and more predators demand a top slot in the hiearchy, turning violent and aggressive towards those who oppose. From the streets, outcry emerge as the daughter of a noble family is kidnapped - and its up to the police division to reach out and try to locate her before it's too late.
> 
> But that only seems to be the tip of the iceberg...
> 
> ***Warning for some near-fatal vore, but nobody is mortally injured.***

The city had never felt so cold, so unforgiving.

A wolf crossed the street, ears perked for the sound of anything suspicious. Heart still pounding, he managed to make his way steadily over as he could, though kept a good eye on the other side, not wanting to meet the gaze of those cold, silver eyes.

_So that's Levi, eh?_

A nervous chuckle passed his lips, straightening his collar the best he could. Mind still throwing him in loops, Farlan padded on.

_Good lord. I wonder how Isabel stands him if he's that cold.. Might as well turn in before Armin wonders where I am. Don't want to keep the kid worrying any longer than I have to._

_What on earth does she see in him? He's a rascal, a street thug… There's got to be someone else out there. As if those records weren't unsettling enough…_

“You okay, chief?”

The panther’s ears flicked upon the words, giving a small nod. “Don't worry about me, just keep your eyes on the crowd. There's no time for getting distracted tonight – not with all the raids recently.”

“And you think they'll be here?”

“Prowlers is a perfect location, isn't it not? Already shady enough, plenty of nearby gangs, and the division over here is short-staffed. Lots of prey on what force we have here, so predators think they can take advantage of that… There are plenty of reasons, I assure you.”

“If you say so, sir… Although I doubt anyone would attempt anything with you here.”

“I'd hope not, but you can never be too certain.” Levi looked over at the deer in question, tilting his head. “Any news about the Ral family’s decision?”

“You mean the one about putting more research into the medications? None yet, sir. Although that doesn't seem to be their most desperate issue… Have you heard what happened with their daughter?”

“Kidnapped by a group of scamps to influence the family’s ruling?” The words came out in a snarl. “Yes, I've heard. I'm planning to keep a lookout in case something comes up.”

“You after that reward?”

“Hardly. I'm just trying to do my job. The Rals are canine, correct? Sheepdogs, if I'm not mistaken? They're lesser predators, so I suspect there are worse things that the group could do, assuming there was more than a couple sizable alphas in the group.”

The other officer shrank back, uneasy. “You're not implying - ?”

“Crimes like that are far scarcer up here than in the Underground, but from what I know it's not unheard of in the city. I could be wrong, of course, but the way things are going these days it's hard to tell. Plenty of predators have made the threat, that I know for sure. Hope I'm wrong, but I honestly wouldn't be surprised.” Levi twitched, growing irritable. “Let me know if you see anything, in any case. I'm going to make my rounds through the area and make sure nothing suspicious is going on.”

“Of course, chief. Wish you luck with that in the meantime.”

“I may need it.”

Without another word, the panther vacated his seat and made his way around, paw on his pistol.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The alleyway surrounding the vicinity reeked of blood. A clawed hand held up a knife, a weasel glaring directly into the eye of their captive.

“We can do this the easy way or the hard way, mutt. Your choice.”

A pair of amber eyes gazed up at them, so full of vim and vigor, yet never so terrified as then. The shepard regarded their captor with hesitance, biting back a growl. “I've already told you – I know _nothing_ about what plans my family has made. You'd better watch it; the police force in this area are usually pretty on-point. A single slip-up and they'll be on your tail without a doubt about it.”

Another figure, a snow leopard, looked over towards the entry of the alleyway. “Surely you don't mean the ones stationed at Prowlers?” A wry smile tugged at her lips. “Golly gee, you sure have some tongue for a posh pup, don't ya? Besides, it isn't like that force leaves the building all night. They won't find you – and I know exactly how to make sure of that.”

The sheepdog eyed the leopard nervously. “And what do you mean by that, exactly?”

A knife pointed in her direction. “Last chance, princess. Where are your family’s plans?”

“I don't know anything, nor would I tell it to a ruthless bunch like you. Those plans belong to the nobility and assure the structure of the inner city, and I have no intents of handing it down to a bunch of foolish _thugs_. Now unhand me, or you'll be in for hell. Murder me or not, they will find the evidence, and your scent is bound to be on my body.”

The weasel tapped the shoulder of their comrade, raising a brow. “You know, she's right – they would, wouldn't they? Shall we just turn her in for the reward?”

The leopard’s ears flicked back in annoyance. “No, the mutt wouldn't keep quiet… I've got an idea.” A sign escaped her lips, cracking her knuckles. “I don't like this alternative, but if it's what it takes to make a hit to the nobility, then I guess it's worth it. It'll just take a bit more working off, that's all…”

The sheepdog drew her ears back, trying to look for a good exit from the gang, but it was more than difficult with her hands bond. She took notice of the lowering knife, and the snarl from the pair surrounding her.

“I swear to god… Well, here goes nothing.”

The moment the leopard advanced, the sheepdog barreled forward. Open jaws knocked against one another as the canine advanced, rolling over once the captor was down. The weasel could only look over in shock as the scene unfolded before him, giving the canine just enough of an opening to make a break for it.

While the rest of her was bound, it seemed that the ropes around her hind legs weren't tight enough, allowing her to make some ground. She nearly managed to escape the alleyway, before the same slender form of the polecat blocked her exit, dagger in hand. “Nice try, puppy, but there's no place to run. By the time the cops investigate, there'll be nothing left of ya! What do you think - they'll search every apex predator for evidence? Nah – you know well where this is going. See ya on the other side, mutt!”

An attempted bite, a blow to the head, and everything went black.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

It seemed that the bar was entirely desolated compared to the usual nights, with fewer and fewer predators roaming around. Prey were all the scarcer, with only the occasional brave rabbit, deer, or bat downing a shot or two. Most seemed solemn, if not self-absorbed; cheerful conversation had begun to drain out.

They knew, of course, of the way that many predators wanted things to be; the desire for that extreme dominance had been all but a whisper in the night until a few weeks ago, until word got through that the prisons were gaining more and more who shared this mentality – and would do everything in their power to have the relative peace between lesser predators and prey eradicated.

Everything about it made Levi sick, struggling to contemplate his surroundings. Yes, something had definitely changed about the aura of the night club, and the divide was all the more apparent.

At least the worst of the crowds were starting to die down; he'd never liked the outspoken, ravenous fiends mingling with unsuspecting – or incapacitated – prey. It made his job easier, at the very least…

Another round surrounding the casino had the same result. A couple regulars, but nobody to question. From what he could tell, there wasn't much of a problem, and much as he denied the notion, there was chance violence was dying down in this particular location with his mere presence.

Nothing seemed out of place, almost suspiciously tame. Nevertheless, there was no use checking for it now; he'd have to wait for a couple more nights like this before he truly jumped to conclusions. Checking every apex predator in the vicinity for evidence wouldn't do any good, after all.

A dhole approached him, bearing the same uniform. “Isn't your shift done for the night?”

“I'm just making my last rounds before I leave,” Levi responded with a nod. “Are you planning on staying later, Ymir?”

Ymir shrugged. “I think I have to, so I might as well make the best of it. You might as well go while you still can, or else they'll probably shove seventeen new reports in your face. Lots of predation these days - it's weird. Can't they keep their muzzles to themselves? Sheesh.”

“It's far stranger that it's only showing up now.”

“Not really – not with the gang members who made a break for it from prison. Seems like a pretty logical escalation to me.”

The dhole reached for a flask of water, downing it in a couple gulps. “Anyways, see you around, I guess.”

“See you around.”

The panther reached for his screen, logging his hours and closing the device with a soft click. Pocketing it, he strode out into the night empty-handed.

_It's never been that quiet… I wonder what the hell they're planning. ___

__Hushed whispers took over the silence, and from the darkness it seemed a pair was lagging behind the rest. A glint of silver seemed to shine from their pockets, and one of them – a leopard – gave an annoyed growl._ _

__“How on earth did you talk me into that? I'm going to have to cough up the bones before they become a problem, and this bitch won't stop squirming.”_ _

__“You're the one who made the ultimate decision, sweetheart. You've done it before, and you'll probably do it again. Be glad she isn't conscious enough to put up enough of a fight; I think the squirming is more instinctive than intentional.”_ _

__The panther’s tail twitched, raising a brow. Surely they didn't know he was listening in, but why on earth would they discuss something of that matter in public? Either way, if they were serious about the whole thing then he'd see to it, but it didn't take much more than noticing the leopard’s distended belly to fill in the gaps. And yes, it definitely did seem as though _something_ was moving around inside…_ _

__Levi reached for his pistol. Did he strike now, or see what other information this foolish couple would give him?_ _

__“Maybe we should've just gone with turning her in… I mean, now we won't get anything out of it.”_ _

__“The nobility will lose a member, isn't that good enough? One less dirty dog ruling over all us alphas. One less cur to try and make us run with our tails between our legs. Wasn't like she was going to grow up any different… And we'll live knowing we've made our mark, am I right?”_ _

__“… True enough. But what now? Just let her die here and now? We can always take her to Erwin, let him deal with her.”_ _

__Levi paused, tail lashing. He was certain he'd seen that name before… But where?_ _

__“And risk her seeing all of that? Then someone will surely come – hic! – looking for her by then, and we can't risk the spread of that information – at least not just yet. It isn't ready. This is the only way to make it work. Trust me. Besides, I hate spitting prey back up. They'll only get us caught.” A bottom swung loosely from the leopard’s side, and the weasel dropped theirs at the side of the road._ _

___They're drunk – that explains a lot. It should make it easier to take them on, in any case…_ Claws unsheathed, and Levi managed to creep forward bit by bit. He could easily assume who they were talking about with the information the pair blurted out into the open, but there was no certainty until whatever being they had eaten was freed. _I must say, this seems easier than I expected it to be…__ _

__“So where are we heading for the night? Your place, or should we report back to the boss?”_ _

__“I'm certain Erwin has better matters to attend to than this little excursion. Besides, I'm not sure the dog will make it long enough anyways.”_ _

__It didn't seem as though the pair was going to let anything else slip at this point, and it was between intervening now or missing the opportunity entirely… Someone was going to die if he didn't, after all._ _

__It was better to strike while he still had the chance._ _

__Carefully, he kept his head down, making his way around. Thankfully, he was more than used to engaging in chases, so if he needed to then he could easily do so. Half of him wanted them not to notice, make his job easier so he could execute the tactic and get home relatively soon, but there was still another part of him that wanted something more… A challenge of some sort, a chance to establish his grip and name in the mores of the overall city. Things like this went unnoticed on the daily in the Underground, but not here. Not on his watch._ _

__Only a moment passed before he dropped to a quadrupedal stance._ _

__“What's that panther doing? I don't like the look of that stance…”_ _

__“Seems like bad news. Do you see that uniform? Better scram before we have trouble!”_ _

__The snow leopard scoffed. “I thought you said the force stayed inside all night… Ugh. Think he's of a size I can take on?”_ _

__“I wouldn't try it. I think that might be the head of the predator force, is it not?”_ _

__“Someone off their shirt early, eh? Let's see if the bastard can keep pace.”_ _

__Without another word past between the two, the snow leopard dropped to all fours, bolting down the sidewalks. For only a moment longer, Levi paused to see if he could intercept their path at any point, figured he couldn't, and darted off after them._ _

__The big cat’s speed was impressive for their current burden, claws raking the ground as she ran. The weasel tailed her, his speed even more consistent than hers. Neither of them we're particularly easy to follow, although Levi wasn't going to give I that easily. It had been some time since he's been able to tail someone further than Prowlers, but if he was going to finally track them down, he couldn't rely on anyone else._ _

__Not as though he ever liked doing that. He'd gotten along well enough without it, anyways, and now was no exception._ _

__His breath was running short from maintaining the speed, although the fire within him was far from running his. His class unsheathed as he drew nearer, waiting for them to be somewhere he could catch them off guard._ _

__With the weight and mental impairment of the leopard, he assumed it wouldn't have been this hard, but she proved him wrong with every second of the chase. Surely she had indeed gotten used to such a predicament… Oh, she wasn't going to get away with this if it took every ounce of strength he had to bring her down._ _

__The moment she seemed to get short of breath, he pounced._ _

__Claws missed by mere inches, sending Levi falling to the ground. Grimacing from the scrapes that formed along his body, he picked himself up and managed to carry on. It seemed it had at least increased her worries, slowing her down and allowing him to close in. Another leap knocked her into a corner, allowing him to close in all the easier._ _

__“Did you really think that'd work?”_ _

__A growl escaped the panther’s lips, a snarl on his face. “You've got some nerve. Now, I suggest you spit out whatever mammal you've ingested, or I'll have to take harsher measures.”_ _

__The leopard snickered, her piercing blue gaze meeting his. “Do you really think I’ll give in to a cop? The streets are a predator’s land; would've thought any smart alpha would get that. Why do you demean yourself? We're supposed to be on top, and the rest are prey.”_ _

__“Because unlike some mammals here,” Levi snarled, pinning her arm down and forcing the knife from her teeth, “I don't believe in the divide. Last chance.”_ _

__“You won't get away with this.”_ _

__“I think you have the wrong idea of where you are in this situation.” His eyes darted from one side of the alleyway to the other, making sure the weasel wasn't about to make an unnoticed attempt to strike out. Judging by the path the creature left, however, it seemed they'd already fled like the coward they seemed to be. “You leave me no choice then, do you? I'm not a fan of this method, now, but if it's the only way…”_ _

__With a sigh, he pulled a vial from his pocket, uncorking it. Prying the leopard’s jaws open, he poured the contents in, them promptly forced them closed. “Y-You… Bastard…”_ _

__“You're making this must harder than it needs to be,” Levi muttered, keeping his grip firmly against their jaws. “You're going to have to breathe; might as well swallow before that becomes too much of an issue for you.”_ _

__The leopard choked, eyes dead-set and furious on his form. However, after a few moments, she reluctantly swallowed, gagging. It wasn't much longer until she pushed away from him, on her hands and knees. The choking didn't stop, only getting progressively violent with each passing second._ _

__Acknowledging the leopard was cornered, Levi willed himself to step back until she was finished. The trail of saliva and rising stomach fluids, the realization of the truth… It was all beyond disgusting, especially in combination in such a way. There was no telling what condition the being within was, either, sending a shudder down his spine as the folded ears and thick fur began to rise._ _

__The unconscious form of a canine arose in the midst of the slime and sludge, falling into the mess with a heavy splatter. Thick fur seemed to be shedding, and there were definitely a couple raw spots and burns from the fluids, but nothing Levi could render as serious. The form appeared to be female, their dress adorned with rips and tears down its sides. They seemed to be of an upper class – and the reality of it did indeed click._ _

__He didn't have enough time to ponder it, however. The moment he got a good look, the leopard lunged at him, knocking him a couple paces. Instinctively, Levi slammed her into a wall, knocking the attacker unconscious. Ears flattening in annoyance and guilt, he pulled out a pair of cuffs, securing them around her wrists. He pulled out his phone, dialing the night club with the details. Once he completed this, he pocketed it, taking another glance at the unconscious canine._ _

__One more look and there was no mistaking it._ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh wow, it's been ages since I've put anything else up here. Apologies if this is a little choppy - life has been hectic and I'm trying to get back into the full swing of writing.
> 
> Expect some more plot in the upcoming chapters! It's starting to all come together.


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Levi's rescue of Petra Ral leaves him with hope of getting to the bottom of the rising rates of predation - and perhaps in finding the ringleader of it all.

“If it isn't Petra Ral.”

Levi’s breath was somewhat uneven, fully processing this discovery. The notion of it all; what he'd voiced at the club was a worst case scenario, yet it seemed to have been precisely what had happened. Fur still bristling with discomfort, he knelt down before her, tail flicking. A single paw fell on her body tentatively, checking for signs of life. She seemed to be breathing, although they were shallow and abnormal. Her pulse, too, seemed to come to the same conclusions. But what to be done about it?

Levi’s gaze flicked over to the unconscious leopard, assuring she didn't get any ideas or another chance to attempt the murder once more. Sighing, he picked up the dog this time, shuddering violently upon with contact to the stomach fluids. He turned towards the alleyway, confused and uncertain. Was it better to turn her in himself, take her to get medical attention, or figure something else out? With some thought, she didn't seem critically injured. Returning her to her family was definitely the safest, most moral bet, although letting her off without at least getting some information from her would be a terrible mistake. Circumstances weren't ideal, but if he could ask her a couple questions and get some perspective on the nobility, then perhaps he could stop this whole mess. There had to be something they'd be hiding from the public if relations had gotten this tense, after all.

But how to get her home…?

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Exhausted, Levi knocked his forehead against the door. Little time past until he heard the sound of footsteps, and the ferret let him in.

“Home late, huh? I thought ya’d be here a lot –“ Her words trailed off and eyes widened with fear as she took note of the form in Levi's arms, gulping. “Uhh Levi…?”

The panther kept his normal solemn expression, heaving a sigh. “Still alive, don't worry. Once I’m inside I can explain a little better, alright?”

Isabel nodded, stepping a few paces back so Levi could enter. Once he had done so, she closed the door with a soft click. The ferret watched as Levi carried her towards the bathroom, setting her gently into the tub.

“Is now a good time?”

“Shh. Keep your voice down.” Levi reached for the faucet, turning it on. Putting a paw beneath it, he assured it wasn't too warm before turning back towards her. “Do you have any clue who that is?”

Isabel looked over her for a moment, tilting her head in confusion. It clicked within a moment of this, however, as she realized precisely where she had seen this canid. “Ah shit, is that Pet-?!”

“Shh!” Levi slapped a hand over her mouth, a soft growl escaping his lips. “Give her a minute to recuperate without screaming, will ya?”

Isabel moved her own paw to her mouth, removing Levi's. “Sorry, Big Brother. I'm just a lil startled is all.” Her shock only grew as she took note of the canine’s condition. “… What exactly happened to her…?”

“Let's just say there's a reason you're immune,” Levi murmured, shaking his head, “and it's so that sick fucks can't do anything like this to you.”

Isabel’s claws unsheathed instinctively. “Nah way, I thought… I thought predators didn't pull that shit up here anymore.”

Levi raised an eyebrow, incredulous. “What exactly do you think my job entails, now? There's a reason the division is known as ‘predator controls.’ If this past week is an indicative sample, then this trend may be getting worse. Be careful when you go out; I have little doubts that there's some plot behind it.”

“And ya intend to get to the bottom of this, no doubt?”

Levi’s ears folded back, turning his attention towards the dog. Pouring a bit of soap into the tub and turning the faucet off, he redirected his attention to the ferret. “Is that a concern of yours?”

Isabel chuckled. “Ya sure ya don't need help on that? I mean, seems like it could be tough to take on your-“

“No.” The word was pointed, followed by a disbelieving sigh. “You are to stay out of this mess, do I make myself clear?”

“Aw c’mon, Levi! I'm a predator too, ya know.”

“You're a _lesser_ predator, Isabel, and you know it as well as I do. Or have you forgotten about how things were in the Underground, how many predators went after you on the daily?”

Isabel stiffened, ears folding back. Levi stepped towards her, placing a paw on her shoulder. “I'm sorry… That was a bit much. I do hope you see my point though. This scheme is bound to be carried out by alphas; I can't see prey or lesser predators being immune to all this. The question is exactly who it is, now.” Levi thought back to the events of the night – the bloodthirsty creatures had mentioned Erwin, had they not? He still couldn't quite match a face to that name, but he'd look into it as soon as he could. “For now, though, Petra is of greater concern. If you'd like to help me, see if you can keep an eye on her and help her recuperate while I'm on shift, got it? For all I know, she could know why this is happening.”

Isabel seemed disappointed at first, although smiled softly. “Ya can count on me, Big Brother.”

“Good. Now, once she's cleaned up, I'll get her situated. If you'll excuse me, though, I'd like to get the vomit off myself. Isn't exactly comfortable…”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

There was no telling how much time had passed by the time she finally awoke. Confused, the canine paused a moment, unsure of whether she wanted to open her eyes. The last thing she remembered was a pair of predators, trying to escape, the harsh blow of a fist… And the connotation that followed their actions. Was she even alive, or was she merely believing she was? Where, exactly, was she?

Her fur bristled, feeling something soft against her form. It didn't feel at all like what she expected the inside of one’s stomach to feel like, and it felt as though there was definitely too much open space as well. She attempted to feel around further, although something seemed to stop her. Did she dare look?

There was some sort of presence around her, but what she couldn't quite say. Her nose picked up ferret… Odd. Hadn't the other creature been a weasel? Maybe her memory was simply failing her. Scrunching her eyes shut, she took a deep breath, realizing that either way she would find out where she was soon enough. Better to just get it over with…

But the sight that met her was completely different than what she was expecting. It was bright enough, warm, and comforting. She felt a presence much unlike a laboratory, a prison, or another detaining facility. No, this seemed like someone’s home – and probably not another of the gang members.

That was when she noticed the other creature: a small red ferret, cheeks and underside a soft white accent. She wore a brown vest, white shirt, and aqua pants, giving a nervously, although friendly smile. Upon closer look, Petra could see three scars on her left cheek, presumably claw wounds from years ago. The canine couldn't pick up any hostility from her, merely curiosity and excitement.

“Hey Levi, I think she's up.” The ferret’s gaze shifted to another room, then back at Petra. Two paws settled themselves on the bed, clambering up in front of the shepherd. “So yer Petra, right?”

Petra hesitated, avoiding the ferret’s gaze. Isabel took quick note of this, shaking her head. “Nah nah, don't worry! I don't mean ya no harm, and neither does –“

The ferret’s words were cut off as a tall panther strode into the room, his hand falling on the polecat’s head. Fingers wove into her fur as he ruffled it affectionately, although his expression remained the same.

Looking up, the panther seemed much more concerning. Jet black with steely, gray-blue eyes, he regarded her with an ambiguous expression. It wasn't, however, until she saw the police uniform that she relaxed.

“I do hope Isabel hasn't been talking you ear off this whole time. Tends to be a bit excited by visitors.”

“I mean, ya told me to keep company, Levi. I dunno what ya want from me,” Isabel chuckled, shrugging.

“No, it's okay,” Petra responded, giving the ghost of a smile. “I just woke up.” She turned her attention from the grinning ferret to the stern panther, trying to discern what had happened. “So you're Levi, then?”

“For all it matters to you, I am. Did the higher-ups mention something about me or something?”

“You've been a major contributor in scaling back predatory violence,” Petra breathed, allowing the smile to surface. “Really, the tides have really turned with your service.”

Levi nodded, face unreadable. “I do what I have to in order to make the city a safer place for everyone. Unfortunately, it seems right about to turn sour if something isn't done.”

Petra looked him in the eye, puzzled. “How do you mean?”

Levi stepped forward, leaning on the bed until he was at level with her. “Do you not remember what happened to you?”

Petra took an uneasy breath, shifting herself despite difficulty. It was only now that she felt the pain from her burns, shuddering and shaking her head. “I… Remember pieces of it. Two predators, a weasel and a leopard if I'm not mistaken, wanted to know about my family’s ruling on the medications. I refused to give it to them of course, and then they threatened to…” A paw ran along one of the burns; looking down, she froze in horror. “Oh my god, did they actually…?”

“Unfortunately. I don't know how much you know or want to know, but I caught them muttering about it on the streets. Seemed pretty drunk to me. So I managed to catch them off guard and regurgitate you, but you seemed to be in pretty bad shape once I got to you. Don't worry, though, you're safe now – just need some time to heal.”

Petra shuddered, realizing how close she had been to death. Taking a moment, she tried to move her focus from the horror and shift it towards gratitude.

“I'm really thankful you managed to get me out of there. I don't know what I would've done without your service.”

“Not a problem; glad I managed to find you in time.” Levi backed away, straightening his posture. “Although there is one thing I need to ask you…”

Petra looked up at him expectantly, curious. “What is it?”

“There's a possibility there's a revolt about to happen, and we need all the information we can get. I doubt you're as naïve to the whole ordeal as you may have presented yourself to be with your captors. For your safety and the safety of all others in this city, can you tell me everything you know?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is so short guys! I'm still trying to figure things out, but I've been a lot better IRL and wanted to return to this work once more. This AU is something I really enjoy working on and it's starting to pick up the proper amount of speed.


	14. A Potential Lead

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When all else fails, Armin is whisked in to try and discern the missing facts. Fortunately, the feline is well-versed in predator history and anatomy, and supplies a likely ringleader in the midst of the crime spike.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember when I said Armin wasn't going to be significant to the plot? I lied. With the new direction I'm taking this he's pretty major.
> 
> Slight warning for super subtly hinted-at fatal vore (like it's hardly noted to those who are concerned); this will NOT be a major trend in the overall series, but it does appear in the shadows a bit. There will be absolutely no detailed accounts of this though as I'm rather squicked out by it myself; Petra's incident is probably the worst in terms of detail when it comes to unsafe voracious encounters.
> 
> Also two chapters in one day, woohoo! Got s burst of inspiration since I'm getting close to the parts I'm most excited to write, so I'll see where this takes me - and how long I can keep it up.

“Erwin, you say? Do you know which Erwin were talking about?”

The feline cocked his head, his blue eyes echoing his confusion.

“Do ya think there’s more than one who's of concern?”

Armin looked over, shrugging. “Beats me. I don't even know if this is the same one that comes to my mind.” The feline looked over to Levi, an apologetic smile on his face as he shifted position on the couch. “Did Petra give you any more information on him, sir?”

Levi shook his head. “All she knew is that the predators she was caught by seemed to be working for him. Wanted to change her family’s ruling on further medication research.”

“… Medication research? Oh.” Armin grunted as he picked up an easily 1000-page history textbook and flipped through, eyes scanning the index. “I think I might have a lead. There isn't much information on him online, but – ah! There it is.”

Ferret and panther leaned over to scan the passage Armin had pointed to, captioned _The Underground: Fall of Mammalian Hospitality._ Armin skimmed it, then pointed to a photo beside it. “The Underground used to be a lot nicer than what you guys have experienced it to be,” Armin murmured, reciting the information. “It was the initial attempt at creating peace between predators and prey. The one mistake that was made was the use of shock collars opposed to medications to quell instinct, which predators blamed on their prey counterparts. Tensions rose even after these collars were canceled, and a coup was attempted by damaged predators who believe they were being controlled and stripped of their power. While this didn't work, there was definitely a seizure of power in the Underground at least. As far as I know, those predators haven't been medicated for decades now. Farlan's been down there quite a bit, so he should know.”

Levi raised a brow, interested. “… Do you have any idea what he does there…?”

Armin closer the book, seeming somewhat defensive for a moment. “I do, actually. He goes down at night with the serum on him and rescues prey from the Underground, usually through more voracious means to assure no other predators get any ideas. He takes them back home, spits them out, gets them cleaned off, and takes them to the station in the morning. Laws state that any prey rescued from the Underground are entitled to homes on the Surface, and thus rehoming efforts are made for them. He does it a lot… Almost nightly. I don't know how he does it… But that's all he does. It isn't like he goes out and murders everyone like you seem to think.”

Levi’s gaze widened, surprised by the bite in the usually calm feline’s voice. “… Armin?”

Armin's eyes widened, shocked and frightened by his own snappiness. “I-I'm sorry, sir! I didn't mean it like that. It's just… You should give him a chance. He told me about what happened when you met up to talk to him…” Armin shuddered, realizing he was getting in too deep.

“I'm sorry, kid. I'll see what I can do in that case.” Levi’s gaze softened, brushing a hand through the feline’s coat. “Anyways, what's this about the Underground now?”

“Oh!” Armin flipped the book back open. “The leader of the coup was named Erwin Smith.” Armin pointed at a picture on the side: a mugshot of a large canine, presumably a retriever. “He's been locked up for some time, but was released a couple years ago. There's been debate about his size: usually, domesticated dog breeds are lesser predators, much in the same vein as domestic cat breeds like me. However, Erwin’s pretty sizable for a dog, and there's been whispers about what happens to his clients even to this day… Not many are found.”

Armin looked over nervously, watching and waiting for both their reactions. Levi hesitated, debating whether he wanted to know what Armin was implying.

“Which means?”

“People believe he possesses alpha anatomy. This said, the assumption is that he uses that to devour any ‘problems’ he comes across. This seems to be quite a possibility, for with every missing person traced back to him, he grows larger. Anyone who knows too much could easily fall prey – and with his background, I wouldn't be surprised if this has remained the same over all these years.”

All three of them shuddered.

“Ya kinda know a lot about this, don't ya? Yer not concerned?”

Armin's fur bristled, turning towards Isabel. “I don't think it's too much of a concern, honestly. I know this textbook went out of printing nearly a decade ago, but I don't think they'd be able to find out I have it that easily. Even if they did, I don't know if they'd recognize it… I'll be careful though, promise.” Armin kept the textbook in hand, rising. “If that's what you currently need, I should be getting going. It's starting to get a bit late, isn't it?”

“I'll escort you,” Levi replied, getting up himself. The panther gave an appreciative glance, patting the feline on the shoulder. “Thank you, Armin. This definitely gives me a good lead to check for information. In the meantime, though, yes - try not to let on you know anything. The last thing we need is for you to wind up like that.”

“See ya later, Armin! If anyone gives ya trouble, lemme at ‘em,” Isabel growled playfully, flexing her claws. Armin grinned back, giving a soft chuckle.

“I'll be sure to let you know. See you tomorrow.”

Three pairs of eyes watched hungrily as the panther and cat emerged from the officer’s house.

“Is that the cat you were talking about? Farlan's son?”

“The very same who he rescued from the Underground, if his records are correct. But why'd he come to Levi? I don't like the look of this.”

“There's definitely something significant about the kid. Levi isn't one to just let people into his house if I've learned anything about him.”

“That's a fair observation. So what do we do about it? Should we get rid of him?”

“Absolutely not. For all we know, the kid has valuable information that'll be wasted if we just take him to Erwin. Remember the plan, anyways; the less information Erwin has and the more we do, the easier it’ll be to usurp him. Keep an eye on him; a move too soon could end catastrophically.”

“And what if he knows too much?”

One of the figured turned towards the other, eyes gleaming with interest. “Then we use him as bait. Even if he doesn't know about this scheme, the cat has valuable links to Farlan, if not Levi as well. Both of them stand in our way right now, so the more we know, the better. Just keep on your toes, and sooner or later we'll know exactly what needs to be done about this pest.”


	15. Setting Traps

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's best not to test a dangerous predator; unless, of course, you have information to save yourself from the mess you've gotten yourself into.
> 
> After the failed murder of Petra Ral, the weasel responsible has to put himself to such a task if he wants to stay alive.
> 
> [Voracious threatening in this chapter, but no vore, implied or blatant.]

“The police are onto you.”

A timid voice echoed the words, trembling. In the corner, a golden retriever of massive proportions settled himself beside his desk. The room emanated a faint blue hue from luminescent wires across the baseboards and ceiling, the only true light in the vicinity. Numerous empty cages aligned the walls, trays, and various chemicals of unknown origin. Claw marks adorned the floor in all their grisly connotations, likely from a lost struggle of several of the canine’s victims. Said canine emitted a growl, adjusting his bolo tie before looking back to see who dared approach him at this moment.

“You had one job. Find Petra, and either bring her here or get rid of her. Granted, I would've preferred the former, but –“

The other creature, a weasel, stepped back nervously, their fur bristling with unadulterated fear. The canine gave an aggressive grin, exposing his salivating jaws and rows of sharp teeth.

“You need to tell me you couldn't even do that?”

When the canine’s fist came down, the creature gave a soft yelp.

“No no, please! E-Erwin sir, I'm sure I can find a way to remedy this!” A nervous scamper to the other side didn't seem to stop the mutt from catching them, however; within seconds, Erwin swooped down, placing a firm grasp on the weasel’s tail. Dangling the creature, Erwin inspected them incredulously, lips bared into a snarl.

“I-I lost my partner! P-Please sir, we need to think logically about this.”

Erwin hesitated, not seeming swayed by the weasel’s pleas just yet. The weasel increased their trembles upon seeing the dog lick his lips, jaws beginning to part.

“You've already failed me,” Erwin growled. “Unless you have a way to remedy this, I suggest you shut it. I'm not interested in excuses.”

The weasel shuddered as Erwin's tongue grazed their cheek, terrified tears dripping down his cheeks. “Hear me out, then, sir.” The creature’s voice was softer and clearly frightened, but it came across well enough. “Y-You said you needed bait, right?”

Erwin raised a brow. “What about that, now? You have my attention.” Erwin dropped the creature, who landed with a thud on the floor. “But make it quick; I'm beginning to get a bit… Peckish.”

“O-Of course, sir.” The weasel brushed himself off, giving a grateful nod. “Now, if I remember correctly, you planned on having the ferret set as bait, did you not?”

Erwin nodded, incredulous. “Do you see any problem with that?”

“N-No, sir – but I can assure you there is better for such a target. After all, your current plan, as detailed and precise as it is, only lures the panther in; granted, I've seen the occasional glimpse of the two together, but you can't deny the wolf’s – Farlan, if I'm not mistaken – threat to your plans. After all, what sort of creature keeps his records completely outside of public viewing – which the police allow? I'd be surprised if he isn't bad news, honestly. He gives off too much of that vibe to me, and I don't like it one bit.”

“Continue,” Erwin murmured, a paw outstretched. “I don't quite see what you mean, but perhaps if you were to detail it for me…” A dangerous look crossed this blue eyes. “… Assuming you have that information, that is?”

“Y-Yes sir. There's a way to get them both.” The weasel shaped up upon seeing Erwin's interested gaze, giving a timid smile. “You see, Petra’s surely told the panther about this, and of course he gets the sense there's trouble underfoot. However, he's not the one with the widest berth of information on the subject.” The weasel dared look the canine in the eye, gulping nervously. “… There's another mammal who knows precisely who you are, and has enough information to take you down – assuming he isn't dealt with.”

Erwin's eyes narrowed. “And who, exactly, is this mammal?”

“The cat who lives with Farlan and has ties with the panther, sir. He's got knowledge which has been locked away for decades now – takes his own time to study the biological and historical past of our kind. If not taken from them, then he could lead to your demise. Let him lead Levi to you, grab him, get the information from him…” The weasel snapped their fingers, a determined grin on their face.

“… Then take him out.”

Erwin seemed to agree with this sentiment, standing before the weasel once more. “Very well, then. You're free to go. But don't let me catch you making any other slip-ups of this nature, or I can assure you…” The retriever snapped his jaws, a growl rising from within him. “… I only have so much patience, and I advise you against testing it.”

The weasel gulped, regarding Erwin sincerely and nervously. 

“Y-Yes… Sir.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Figured I might as well progress the plot in this direction; granted, there was some filler I wanted to add in between this, but honestly this fic has enough background information and side development that I don't think I need to get too into just yet.
> 
> Another chapter? In a decent time stamp? Yep. It's super short I'm sorry to say, but hopefully it'll do for now. Hoping to just keep plowing through; at the moment this one seems the most promising as a finished fic.
> 
> I guess this also marks the one year and one month anniversary for this fic too? Huh.


End file.
